A notice indicates the ancient town lies at the feet of what’s now called Şahinkaya or Falcon Rock. In the luwian language the town was called Arykawanda (the place near the high rocks). Though the location was known from 1838 on it was not excavated until 1971 when a team under professor Bayburtluoğlu started doing so. The location of the town made it easy to defend and kept it safe until the 6th century. By then a series of disasters like earthquakes and fires made the then Christian population relocate in a narrow space south or southeast of the Elmalı road. Ancient writers called the inhabitants lazy and hedonists, still it has all the structures one would find in a classical city. There are several temples, the dedication of which is not always clear, two agoras, a Bouleuterion, theatre and lots of baths. Part of the cities wealth stemmed from the nearby cedar woods, part from its position along an important road.

Use Map view to check where the buildings were situated. I added captions, some with the help of a plan (in Turkish) and the GPS. Several buildings were not identifiable (to me, that is). If you have expert knowledge, please write a comment.