Model of the Temple

A view of a model of the Donutash that is in the Archaeology Museum in Tarsus.  The Temple was constructed on a high podium.  Note the staircase that leads up to the temple (none of it is preserved). There are 10 columns on the short side and 21 columns on the long side.  Inside the naos there probably was a huge statue of Hadrian.  The temple was one of the largest in the Roman world in its day.

This model is on display in the Archaeology Museum in Tarsus.

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The Donuktash (Turkish for “frozen stones”) is a very mysterious structure that is located on a back street in Tarsus.  This massive structure is apparently the foundation of a large, second century A.D., Roman Temple—probably dedicated to the Roman Emperor Hadrian (r. AD 117–138).   The exterior core of the temple remains, as do some significant interior foundations—for the marble and stone facing have been stripped away during the centuries.