Stars Take to the Stage

Aphrodisias is an ancient Carian city located near modern-day town of Karacasu, Turkey. Aphrodisias has been best known for its sculptures and building facades made from white and blue-grey Carian marble quarried from nearby hills. Marble sculptures and sculptors from Aphrodisias became famous in the Roman world. The archaeological grounds are inscribed as a UNESCO world Heritage Site.

This is the view from the amphitheatre, overlooking the city and environs. To the left is Mt. Baba, where the marble quarries of the city were located. Above the theatre, the Milky Way arches high from northeast to southwest; while the floodlights around the entrance to the archaeological grounds try to look like resupplying the Milky Way. Saturn and Jupiter nicely flank the central bulge of the Milky Way, as they did for all of 2019.