Sacred Stoa

This was presented in the 2nd century B.C. by Ariarathes, the King of Cappadocia. It is 116 m long and 12.50 m wide. It rests on a basement. The roof was supported by 49 Doric columns with 24 Ionic columns in the middle. There is a row of 15 shops running along the whole of the north side of the stoa except for the section occupied by the Bouleuterion. The shops opening on to the stoa were reserved for the use of high-ranking officials. The circular bench in one of these would appear to indicate that the cult of Rome and Augustus was practised here. It was because of this that the stoa came to be known as the "Sacred Stoa". An inscription can still be seen on a wall mentioning the Julian calendar accepted in the 9th century A.D.

On the eastern side of the Stoa are two important buildings, the Bouleuterion and the Pritanium.