The Roman theatre of Hierapolis was built in the 1st century AD and rebuilt by the emperor Septimius Severus a century later. The stone seating, divided into upper and lower banks by a diazoma, held 12,000 spectators. What sets it apart from most ancient Turkish theatres is the scaenae frons — the multi-storey stage backdrop — which has been substantially re-erected since the 1990s, complete with its tiers of columns, niches, reliefs and statues.
The theatre sits halfway up the hill above the site, with views back over Hierapolis and the travertines. The reliefs along the front of the stage depict scenes from the lives of Apollo and Artemis, the city's patron gods. It is the obvious place to start a visit to the upper city.