Hierapolis Amphitheatre

Sitting above the amazing Pamukkale hot springs in south-western Turkey is the ancient city of Hierapolis. One of the crowning glories of this Roman city was its amphitheatre.

In fact the amphitheatre that remains is actually the second that was built in Hierapolis. The first was destroyed in an earthquake in 17 A.D.. The present theatre was built in 60 A.D. with the remains and the seats of the old theatre.

View a video of Hierapolis Amphitheatre on Google Maps

Here are few more amphitheatrea:
Nimes Amphitheatre
El Djem Amphitheatre
The Colosseum
Verona Arena
Pula Arena

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Pula Arena, Croatia

Regular readers of this blog will know of our love for Roman amphitheatres. The Pula Arena is the latest addition to our collection of videos. The Pula Arena is one of the world's best preserved amphitheatres. It is the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers and with all three Roman architectural orders entirely preserved.

It is the sixth largest surviving Roman arena and is also the best preserved ancient monument in Croatia.

View a video of Pula Arena on Google Maps

Here are few more:
Nimes Amphitheatre
El Djem Amphitheatre
The Colosseum
Verona Arena

Read more »

Nîmes Amphitheatre, France

The Nimes elliptical Roman amphitheatre was built in the 1st or 2nd century AD and was among the biggest in Roman Gaul. The amphitheatre is about 13 m long, 101m wide and 21m high. It is built on two levels with 60 arches each on each level. Inside, more than 20,000 spectators could attend the fights of the gladiators.

It is the best-preserved Roman arena in France. In medieval times it was filled with housing, when its walls served as ramparts, but they were cleared under Napoleon. It is still used today as a bull fighting and concert arena.

View a video of the Nîmes Amphitheatre on Google Maps

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El Djem Amphitheatre, Tunisia

Regular visitors to Virtual Tourism will know that we are great fans of Roman Amphitheatre and Colosseum, so we were delighted to discover that the El Djem Amphitheatre in Tunisia was another beneficiary of Google's latest satellite imagery update. The ampitheatre is a truly amazing sight, only Rome's Colosseum (about 45,000 spectators) and the ruined theatre of Capua are larger.

Until the 17th century it remained more or less whole. From then on its stones were used for building the nearby village of El Djem and transported to the Great Mosque in Kairouan, and at a tense moment during struggles with the Ottomans, the Turks used cannons to flush rebels out of the amphitheatre.

However the remaining ruins of the amphitheatre are still so impressive that they were declared a World Heritage Site in 1979.

View a video of the El Djem Ampitheatre on Google Maps

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