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Ancient Roman Spa Town: Basilica Therma

Ancient Roman Spa Town: Basilica Therma

Ancient Roman Spa Town: Basilica Therma

Ancient Roman Spa Town: Basilica Therma

The Basilica Therma is located in the heart of Sarıkaya, a town on the Bozok Plateau in northern Anatolia. The settlement was built on a wide valley that was 1170 meters above sea level. The thermal and therapeutic spring, which has been operating since ancient times and continues to do so today, is the reason for the town's location. The Basilica Therma was a bathing structure located in the valley's lowest section. Its Roman Bath, which was erected in the second century A.D., has been in continuous use, and this beautiful fountain is still a source of therapeutic thermal waters.

In 2010, excavation operations at the spa in Yozgat province's Sarkaya district began, revealing a semi-Olympic-sized swimming pool. Many items from the Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman imperial periods were discovered during the excavations that took place between 2010 and 2015. The Roman bath's largest hot pool spans 23.30 x 12.80 meters and is 1.34 meters deep. The pool water temperature is around 45 degrees Celsius.

A Roman ruler who lived in central Kayseri is thought to have built the "Basilica Therma." The spa is thought to have been constructed for his daughter's treatment when she became ill. The therapeutic qualities of the thermal waters healed her, and the spa was known as "King's Daughter" among locals. The thermal benefits were especially beneficial to the Ottomans. Teachers' salary in Boğazlıyan in 1905 were paid using thermals' profits, according to a document recently discovered. Hamam Köy was the name of the town during the time (Bath Village). The hamlet has developed into a town thanks to the Roman Baths.

The 2000-year-old "Basilica Therma" was added to UNESCO World Heritage tentative list in 2018.

One of the most prominent features of the bath is that thermal water is still boiling inside. And the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s plan is to present this historic, ancient thermal welfare center as an active thermal treatment center to the people.