Pergamum or Bergama

Photo: partially restored Temple of Trajan, Ancient Pergamum

Those who are fond of Earl Grey tea probably know it is flavoured with bergamot flowers. But these tea drinkers may be surprised to learn that the bergamot is named for an ancient town in Turkey.

As Turkish Odyssey explains, after the death of Alexander the Great, Lysimachus, one of his generals, deposited his 9000 talents of gold at Pergamum and asked Philetaerus to guard it. A dynasty of Attalid kings was established and in the Hellenic period, the city became a centre of culture, known for its library, school of sculpture and great temples.

King Attalus I befriended Rome and received favours in exchange, making Pergamum the centre of a kingdom that included Lydia, Mycia, Phrygia, Caria (capital, Halicarnassus, or contemporary Bodrum) and Pamphylia.

Later the Romans controlled the city, and after that it went through Arab and Byzantine periods before the Turks took it over in the 14th century.