Colossae in Turkey is one of those unimpressive sites in the country. Not because of it’s importance in the Bible. But because it is completely unexcavated. Since we were travelling to the seven congregations addressed in Revelation, this site seemed too intriguing to pass up. Especially since it was almost along our route. First, let’s address a few questions.
Where is Colossae located?
This is the exact location of Colossae in modern day Turkey. The entrance to the mound is located here.
When you get to the entrance, this is what you will see:
The location in proximity to other cities
It’s important to understand the location of Colossae in relation to other cities of early Christianity. A days walk during the life of the Apostle Paul was about 25 miles. Here is a map with the travel distances between cities at that time in Asia Minor:
Colossae to:
- Ephesus – 128 miles (5 day walk)
- Laodicea – 12 miles (1/2 day walk)
- Philadelphia – 67 miles (2.5 day walk)
- Sardis – 97 miles (4 day walk)
- Thyatira – 128 miles (5 day walk)
- Pergamum 175 miles (7 day walk)
How do you pronounce Colossae?
Colossae is pronounced ‘ko-lo’see. The sound byte above renders it properly. Do a search and you will see that this pronunciation is all over the map. I did a quick search on youtube to find that there is no general consensus. But if you follow the rules of grammar properly, you will find that the above clip pronounces it correctly.
The Mound of Colossae
The site is just a few small hills. But there is evidence of major ruins underneath.
It was quite a surprise to find out that there was really nothing above ground except the odd column or roof stop sticking out. The large mounds indicate that there are impressive structures underneath.
There’s a lot of speculation about what will be discovered one day. Here is what each mound is thought to be:
We found one old sign on the side of the hill. Here it is:
We could see that there were obviously larger structures beneath the surface of the hill. For example, notice the hole in this picture. Peering inside reveals a much larger room which is currently inaccessible.
Besides the small unexcavated hills, we saw orchards around the site. The crazy thing is that these orchards have ruins sticking out of them and laying all around the trees. Cherries are the main industry here. Whenever this place get’s excavated there are going to be some unhappy farmers.
The best ruins that we saw were not on the site itself. Instead you need to walk about 10 minutes to a clearing where you will find an necropolis (graveyard of an ancient city). Google maps does not show a road, but there is one there. Go to this dirt road and walk 5 minutes to see it.
I have to add one thing. It was a big disappointment. Construction waste had been dumped on the site. I’m sure it will get cleaned up one day. It’s a shame there were no measures in place to prevent it.
Interesting facts:
- The city was a textile center that produced wool of an unusual hue called colossinus.
- Phyrgians were present at Pentecost 33 CE. Perhaps some were from Colossae.
- The apostle Paul likely never visited Colossae. Colossians 2:1 seems to indicate this.
- The first century Christians Onesimus (Col 4:9), Archippus (Col 4:17), Philemon and Apphia (Phil 1:1,2) lived in this city.
After about an hour we were finished with Colossae. There’s just not much to see. I really hope in the future an excavation will be done. There certainly is a treasure underneath waiting to be discovered.
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