Mark Landon · CC BY 4.0 · Source & license
Red Basilica (Sanctuary of Egyptian Gods)
Indoor access needs confirmation
A monumental sanctuary of the Egyptian gods, built entirely of brick in the middle of Roman lower Pergamon and seated on twin vaults over the Selinos.
Cult and art-historical evidence places the building in the second century, most likely under Hadrian, and dedicates it to Serapis and Isis. So the courtyard would not be cut by the river, the Selinos was diverted into a pair of underground vaults that still carry water. In the early Byzantine period the sanctuary was adapted as a basilica, and the building was later used as a mosque as well.
Why visit
To stand beside the brick mass and see how the river was carried underneath the courtyard.
Enter on the axis of the monumental west gate, read the courtyard pavement first, then the brick fabric of the south tower.
