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Infrequent dolmuses will drop you at the start of the Pinara road from where it is a 6 km walk to the site, or bargain with the driver to take you all the way. PATARA This area is the birthplace of Saint Nicolas, later known as Santa Claus (see entry for Myra), was the principal Lycian port which now lies in ruins on the stunning white sand beach. The entrance to the city is 2km from the village of Gelemis through an almost intact Roman gateway. The many individual ruins include baths, a basilica, a second century temple, an acropolis, a granary, more Lycian tombs and a theatre, half covered by the wind-driven sand. The beach, also a turtle nesting ground at night is nearly 22km long, so take advantage of the beach dolmus! It’s a popular destination for all beach sports. The nearby village has many pensions and several restaurants. Dolmuses run frequently from Fethiye (1½ hours) in the summer and larger buses en route to Antalya stop here. They usually stop on the main road, 4km from Gelemis. LETOON The Letoon is the shrine of the goddess Leto, who according to
legend was loved by Zeus. Unimpressed, Zeus’ wife Hera
commanded that Leto spend an eternity wandering around from country
to country. She spent much of this time in Lycia becoming the
Lycian national deity. The federation of Lycian cities then
built this impressive religious
sanctuary
to worship her, it was the official religious sanctuary of the
Lycian federation where national festivals were celebrated.
The sanctuary became a centre of Christian worship and a church was
consecrated here. It was not until the Arab raids in the
seventh century that the site was eventually abandoned. The
remains were discovered in 1840 and excavated in 1962. The
site contains ruins of 3
temples side
by side - Apollo (left), Artemis (middle) and Leto (right). Apollos
temple has a good mosaic floor showing a lyre and a bow and arrow.
The nymphaeum is permanently flooded and inhabited by frogs which is
appropriate, as worship to Leto was somehow associated with water.
There is also a large Hellonistic
theatre which
is well preserved and a number of interesting inscriptions.
One of the inscriptions states the conditions of entry to the
sanctuary, including a strict dress code which stated that the
clothing must be simple, with rich jewelry and elaborate hairstyles
forbidden. XANTHOS The hilltop city is perhaps the most fascinating Lycian ruin with breathtaking views of the Xanthos River. Unfortunately when it was discovered, many of the monuments were shipped to the British Museum in London in 1842 when the traveler Charles Fellows visited it. Many of the inscriptions and decorations at the site are copies of the originals. The city dates back to possibly 540 BC and during Lycian times, it was the capital and grandest city, although during its period it has suffered a chequered history of wars and destruction including two major holocausts when the cities inhabitants destroyed themselves and their city in defence. The most important construction is the 4th century Nereid Monument, a beautiful decorated Ionic temple on a high podium which is sadly now in London and marked with a plaque at Xanthos, however there is still enough left to make it a well-worth visit. Still standing are the Arch of Vespasian and adjoining Hellanistic gateway bearing an inscription recording that Antiochas the Great dedicated the city to Leto, Apollo and Artemis, the national deities of Lycia. The Xanthian Obelisk is the remains of another pillar tomb labeled as the ‘Inscribed Pillar’ and covered on all sides by the longest known Lycian inscription which runs to 250 lines and includes 12 lines of Greek verse. The
spectacular Roman
theatre,
built on the site of an earlier Greek structure is almost complete
and lies next to the Lycian
acropolis -
the remains of a square building believed to have been an early
palace. There are residential sections from the Hellanistic, Roman
and Byzantine eras. There is also a Byzantine basilica, Roman
acropolis, freestanding sarcophagi and a Byzantine monastery
containing an open courtyard with wash basins along one side and
more Lycian tombs across the road from the main site. Dolmuses
will take you as far as Kinik (en route to Patara) and from here it
is less than 2 km to the Letoon turn off from where it is a 20
minute uphill walk. KEKOVA (SUNKEN CITY) The area known as Kekova contains the central village Ücagýz on the mainland. It is a small fishing/farming village that remains relatively unspoilt. It still retains some old Turkish charm with old white houses and cows and chickens wandering freely around the streets. The surrounding area also features many ruins at Teimiussa, Simena, Kale, Aperlae and Kyaneai on the mainland. Kekova Island is also known as Batik Sehir Sunken City. It is the site of an ancient unidentified city destroyed when an earthquake which disturbed the land, causing some of the ancient houses to sink under the clear water, creating a sunken city. There are remains of stairs, pavements, house walls and a long quay. As snorkeling and diving are forbidden over the ruins, the only way to see them, is to take a trip from either Kas or Kekova. You have a choice of a glass bottom boat or using just a mask over the side of a smaller boat. Kekova has the only beach in the area, and the old charm of the village makes it a memorable place to stay. There are several restaurants and pensions clustered around the port and there are excellent trekking possibilities around the island. On top of the island is a castle (ancient Simena) - a good place to climb for the excellent views of the bay. DEMRE The
town is not of great importance, but from here it is a 2km walk to
the remains of the ancient city of Myra.
Myra was one of the most prominent members of the Lycian federation
and retained its importance throughout the middle ages, because of
its association with the bishop Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus).
St Paul also stopped here on his voyage to Rome. The city’s
name by tradition is said to be derived from the Greek word for
myrrh, the gum resin used in production of incense. It dates
back to 42 BC and became the capital of Lycia in 5th century.
Despite the city’s long history as a religious, commercial and
administrative town, Arab raids in 7th century and silting of the
harbour led to its decline. Much of the city remains still
buried. Visible is the well preserved Roman
theatre (rebuilt
in 141 AD), striking honeycomb of Lycian tombs, which you can view
closer by climbing the ladders. The tombs are said to resemble
Lycian houses with wooden beams. The river necropolis tombs
including the painted tomb featuring a reclining bearded man and his
family. Andriake is 2 km beyond Demre and 5 km from Myra. The main reason to come here is for the beach and the beauty of the skyline. The ancient Adriake was the site of Hadrian’s granary used to store locally grown grain and was vital to the whole roman world since its contents were sent to Rome to be distributed around the Empire. Myra’s most famous citizen was Saint Nicholas , born at Patara in 300 AD. As well as being Saint Nicholas - Santa Claus, he is the patron saint of sailors, virgins, children, merchants, scholars, pawnbrokers and Holy Russia and was the Bishop of Myra. He is identified in the Christian world as a kind old present giver, arising from a story of his kindness to the 3 daughters of a poor man who were left without a dowry. He is said to have thrown 3 purses of gold into the house one night enabling them to find husbands instead of selling themselves into prostitution. He was buried in the church at Demre which is now dedicated to him but is believed that in 1087, his bones were carried off to Italy by a group of devout raiders from Bari. They missed a few bones which can now be seen in the museum in Antalya. The church become a popular place of pilgrimage when visitors to his tomb made claims of miraculous events and a monastery was built nearby in the 11th century so even after the removal of the bones, pilgrimages still visited. The modern day church bears little resemblance to the 3rd century original having been rebuilt gradually over the centuries, but it is still worth a visit with the original mosaic floor panels and a rare typical Byzantine synthronon (bishops throne). The original tomb is said to be buried under the church, but the sarcophagus on display is worth looking at. |