Discover Limyra Southern Turkey

Tea Chest Tidbits – short posts with lots of delightful photos of our time in Turkey.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

The chap and I decided to go for a wander one day, this turned into a 25km round trip filled with wonderful discoveries along the way. Starting off from our apartment south east of Finike township we headed towards the hills. We were ambling along the road looking at the quaint old farm houses and Lycian Rock Tombs sporadically placed, when we rounded a bend in the road and we stopped in total disbelief at what we were seeing. Here before us was a settlement so steeped in history and ruins, with not a sign post or travel recommendation in sight. To say we were in awe is an understatement. We had come across the ancient site of Limyra and spent several hours enjoying the sites and relaxing under the magnificent trees by the babbling stream.

The ancient site of Limyra is situated about 6km inland from Finike, at the base of a mountain which was used as an acropolis. Limyra played a very important role in the fourth century BCE, when Pericles, a Lycian ruler, backed an insurgence of satraps in Asia Minor against the reigning Achaemenid Persians. For quite some time, Limyra was the capital of Lycia. Persian rule was re-established in either 366 or 362 BCE by Maussolus, a most notorious member of the Hecatomnid Dynasty. Alexander the Great passed through Lycia in the early part of 333 BCE, which was then ruled by Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander’s successors. Ptolemy II Philadelphos succeeded his father and is said to have supported the Limyrans when they were threatened by a Celtic tribe, the Galatians. The Limyran people were so grateful they dedicated a monument to their savior, which was called the Ptolemaion. The area was succeeded by the Romans after 167BCE and under Roman rule it became a very prosperous area. The site was heavily damaged in the earthquake of 141CE.

We came across some experimental archaeological constructions that the Turkish have named Andron; the men’s room in ancient houses. These constructions are built using wooden beams and are built to gain an insight into the style of the façades of the Lycian rock-cut tombs found throughout Southern Turkey. After a theoretical approach with scaled models, the information gained was used to build new spaces for the archaeological mission at Limyra.

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I do hope you are enjoying these Tidbits of our time here in Turkey. Catch us next time when we share with you another magnificent historic site we visited on our journey.
Happy Tea Drinking and Fair Winds ♥

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