Sobesos Ancient City

Sobesos is the only Roman archaeological site in Cappadocia. It was discovered by a local farmer in the 1960s; excavations started in 2002 and are still in progress. Even after more than twenty years of work, this archaeological dig is still in its early stages.

Romans built Sobesos during the 4th and 5th centuries. There were two main sites, shaded by roofs of corrugated iron. The first was a bath complex, with a curved cistern and a steam room lined with benches. Togay pointed out the stacks of clay disks, used for heating the water.

Beyond the baths was a field with the remnants of many stone structures. Here we could see that the site was in a fertile valley.

The second active excavation site was a large and beautiful mosaic floor, remarkably intact! This was probably a villa with a courtyard.

Later, during the 6th century CE, a chapel was built atop the site. Its curved wall sat on top of the fine mosaic floor.

There weren’t any people working on the site while we were there, but it was still fun to see an excavation in progress, particularly one for which our guide Togay was a proud investor.