A rough and steep path leads high to the hilltop city that was once Termessos.

What struck me in exploring the ruins of Termessos, was the contrast between the cut limestone and the surrounding sheer and rocky mountains.

This is a place that defied Alexander the Great in 333 BC, but was itself defeated by the forces of nature and, ironically, the very material it was constructed from. It was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed the city’s water supply.

The effort in constructing the city must have been colossal, and yet centuries later and the inevitable entropy after its desertion, the spirit of this place endures.

As we scrambled over fallen columns and capitals, making our way through overgrown pathways and taking in the majestic views from the theatre, the stillness of the stone pervaded.