At Olimpos, you get a feel for what a lost civilization is. There was once a city here. Now, it is a collection of empty stone husks. Growing trees have pushed aside solid stone walls. Weeds burst from every crack in a row of Roman arches.
Vines cascade over the walls of what was once someone's home.
The canopy of trees filtered the fiery Mediterranean sun to a soft, warm glow that speckled the ground with bright splashes of light. Wandering through the ruins, I stumbled upon a dozen black turtles sunning themselves by a pool of water that, eons ago, was in the heart of busy downtown Olimpos. Steve Baragona New civilizations are built upon the ruins of the old. 63 B.C. The fourth century A.D. saw the Roman Empire pick up and move to Byzantium. The 11th saw the rise of the Muslim Seljuk Turks.