Els Slots

The Netherlands - 04-May-23 -

The Ancient Cities of Lycian Civilization comprise the remains of 7 major cities from the Lycian League, a kind of ‘United Arab Emirates’ from the 1st century BC – ‘democratic’ but with some cities having more votes than others. It includes the already inscribed Xanthos, so it should be considered as an extension although the Site description does not explicitly say so. ‘Lycian’ in this period refers to a regional identity: they lived nominally under Persian, Hellenistic and Roman rule but were granted a lot of autonomy in their affairs.

I focused my visit on Tlos, arguably the best among the 6 additional ones and in some respects even better than Xanthos (although it lacks the historically important inscriptions in the Lycian language of the latter). On the approach I knew already that it would be a worthwhile visit: the location of Tlos, amidst steep hills and canyons, is stunning. The excavated area is compact, with the Acropolis and rock-cut tombs to the right, the stadium in the middle and the theatre and baths to the left.

The site facilities are still on a basic level, in line with the relatively low 40 TL entrance fee. Parking is done just somewhere by the side of the road. The trails up to the rock-cut tombs are very slippery with loose stones. There is no signposted itinerary either.  Part of the fun is to discover the various elements by yourself. There were a fair number of foreign tourists present despite the relative unfamiliarity of the site.

I started at the tombs that were carved into the hills. On the climb up I passed already two of the sarcophagi that are so characteristic of the Lycians: they were like stone coffins planted on a pedestal. The rock-cut tombs have clean-cut facades but are basic inside with just a stone bench or two. The climb ends at the citadel at the top, which was used and extended in various stages up until the 19th century. On the way down I took another path and ended up at an unknown building (the bouleuterion and / or prytaneion?) which seems to be fully fenced off.

Afterwards, I walked in the direction of the theater, some 500m away on the other side of the road. You will pass the baths, of which the Great Bath was remodelled into a Byzantine church. The theater itself is undergoing major repair, the whole middle section of seat rows seems to have collapsed – is it a still visible result of the 141 AD earthquake that destroyed most of the city? A crane has been put to work now to lift materials and possibly clear the site for restoration.

I’d recommend visiting Tlos or any of the other major Lycian cities in addition to Xanthos-Letoon, as that site may have produced the most important remains but these are now in faraway museums and the whole site set-up is very chaotic. So a thumbs-up for the extension it is!

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Clyde

Malta - 20-Nov-21 -

I visited this tWHS in Spring 2021 focusing mainly on Patara apart from the already inscribed Xanthos. My thumbs down is not for the quality of the proposed sites, but because ideally this would be an extension of the already inscribed Xanthos-Letoon.

Patara is a perfect site to combine with a day at the beach. Several turtles use this beach as their nesting ground at night so when I visited I could see several signs and numbered posts indicating the numerous places on the beach where turtles had already laid their eggs. I parked just before the beach and hiked leftwards from the car park behind the sand dunes covered with vegetation following Google Maps to the ancient Roman lighthouse remains. It was easier for us as there was a crane at the site since a huge reconstruction project was launched in 2020, nicknamed the Year of Patara. For the time being only the huge three stepped base and a few huge stones of the 2,500 original ones are in place. The rest have been numbered and sorted around the base. It was great to be able to look out for the ones with Latin inscriptions on them (bottom right photo). The ancient lighthouse was devastated in 1481 due to an earthquake in Rhodes and a subsequent tsunami in the Mediterranean. The reconstruction project will use artificial intelligence to determine the original placement of the original stones and reconstruct the structure. More information and a computer generated photo is available on the Daily Sabah. I was the only one to venture so far away from the beach and main ruins when I visited and I was startled by "close encounters" with semi-wild and wild annimals; tortoises, oxen, and wild boars, the latter being quite dangerous even though I hurried away in the opposite direction at once.

The main ruins are scattered around what was once Harbour Street (top left photo) where there is a second smaller car park. Harbour Street connects the inner harbour to the agora in front of the bouleuterion. It is one of the widest and best preserved streets in Lycia. Both sides of the street are lined with Ionic order colonnades as wide as six meters. The colonnade on the east is made of granite while that on the west is made of marble columns. Behind the colonnades are the remains of various ancient trade shops. Another highlight is the heavily reconstructed assembly hall of the Lycian League overlooking the theatre on the south side (bottom left photo) with several inscriptions. Displayed in front of it is a replica of the Abora IV reed boat which is believed to have been the vessel used for the expedition from Varna, Bulgaria to Patara. This expedition is believed to have tested the reliability of the maritime trade route between the Black Sea and Egypt.

One of the closest structures to the entrance gate is the recently restored great city gate, which is believed to date back 2,000 years. It is said to be unique in the world in terms of its water transfer duty as it had the task of transferring water as a reverse siphon (top right photo). Just behind the gate are a few Lycian tombs, a recurring remain in this region of Turkey. In Fethiye, one of the huge tombs is literally in the middle of a busy modern street as if it were a make-shift roundabout!

Philipp Peterer

Switzerland - 26-Sep-21 -

I visited 4 of the currently proposed 6 Lycian cities on my trip from Xanthos to Antalya.

Xanthos

Already inscribed as a WHS, this is probably the town most travellers will visit. The site is already covered by the several Xanthos-Letoon reviews.

Patara

Patara served as the Lycian capital and the archaeological site stretches over a large area. After passing the tollbooth to pay the entrance fee, the road leads more than 1km into the site until you reach the parking lot. The area includes a rather well preserved theatre, a heavily reconstructed parliament hall and several remains of other buildings such as baths and temples. If you hike up the hill behind the theatre, you will find a tomb and a view point. I covered the northern part by parking my car near the ancient main gate. From there you can visit the Harbour Bath.

Myra

Myra is located at the northern border of the city of Demre. It can easily be combined with the St. Nicholas Church TWHS in the city center. The site is very small, but very scenic. It consists of a very nice and big theatre and countless tombs built into the rock behind the town. I spent around 40 mins on site and would not know how to extend it much further.

Phaselis

Phaselis is only one hour drive from Antalya. This site by far attracts the most visitors of all the Lycian cities. It is located directly at the sea and the locals flock the beach there on sunny days. I felt a bit weird with my camera, walking past grills, towels and umbrellas. The remains partially reach the water, but are mostly located in a forest that start right behind the beach. There are remains of an aqueduct, temples and a small theatre.

As a serial nomination this would be a worthy addition to the list, in my humble opinion. Compared to some Greek or Roman site already on the list, Myra or Patara certainly don’t need to hide.