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Historical Overview
The Persians too sought to occupy the well defended territory but found Lycian independence deeply rooted in the culture. In the late 6th century BC, the Persians came to dominate Asia Minor and the surrounding vicinity but found Lycia to be a difficult conquest. When the Persians attacked the Lycian capital of Xanthos, the Lycians fought valiantly, but were eventually overcome. The survivors burnt the city, committing mass suicide, rather than submit to Persian rule.
Information Panel – Lycia in Turkey
Source: UNRV History
The ancient Greeks later gave it the name of Antiphellos or Antiphilos (The turkish version is “Andafili”), since it was the harbor in front of the city of Phellos (Greek for “a place of stones”). During the Roman period, Antiphellos was famous for exporting sponges and timber. Pliny the Elder refers to the town in the fifth book of his Naturalis Historia. After 395 the town became part of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) and during the early Middle Ages was a bishop's see - and as Antiphellus is still a titular see.
The town suffered because of Arab incursions, then was annexed (under the name of Andifli) to the Anatolian Sultanate of Rüm, led by the Seljuks. After the demise of the Seljuks, it came under the Ottomans.
Kaş was founded on the ancient town of Antiphellos and the Lycian style sarcophagus at the beginning of the avenue running down to the port has become the symbol of this lovely town near Antalya in the Mediterranean region south of Turkey.
In 1923, because of the Exchange of populations at the Treaty of Lausanne between Greece and Turkey after the Greco-Turkish War, the majority of the population, which was of Greek origin, left the town for Greece.
In the early 1990s tourism started booming in Kaş, with visitors mainly from Turkey and the UK and Germany. This growth of tourism brought an explosion of apartment building (often without license), which is beginning to seriously threaten the landscape and the environment. Particularly affected is the beautiful Çukurbağ Peninsula, west of
March 10, 2009 by Aysegul Duygu Saylam
Some says Kaş is beautifully situated in a curving bay underneath the 500 meters high cliffs of the Yatan Adam (Sleeping Man) mountain from which there is a startling view on the bay and the Greek island of Kastellorizo (Meis in Turkish) opposite. Until 1923 Kaş was also populated by Greek fishermen and was known as Andifli. It was a sleepy fishing village until the early 1980.
Present-day Kaş is one of the fastest expanding towns in the field of tourism on the Turquoise Coast and has become a stylish holiday resort with some of the best shops and restaurants on the Mediterranean. The small town is a centre for arts and crafts, jewellery and textiles. There are plenty of excellent restaurants, bars and cafes.
On the site of present-day Kaş there was the town of Antiphellos, the harbor of ancient Phellos. The original name of the town was Habesos or Habesa in the ancient Lycian tongue. Antiphellos grew in size and became important in Hellenistic times and by the Roman era, it was the most important city in the region. The most interesting is definitely the Lion Tomb amidst the carpet shops on Uzun Çarşı Caddesi. It is a Lycian sarcophagus with two burial chambers. Another important remain, just outside of town, is the almost intact Hellenistic theatre with 26 rows of seats that could hold up to 4,000 people. The tribunes and outer walls are still visible today, (Luc Wouters,2006)
In the early 1980s became a holiday metropolis, whose permanent population of 8000 is vastly outnumbered in summer by the vacationers on whom locals depend for a living.”
The History of Kas
“Emperor Constantine Porphrogenitus describled the city as: “Thrice blessed, myrrh-breathing city of the Lycians, where the mighty Nicolaus, servant of God, spouts forth myrrh in accordance with the city’s name.”
Kas is a small historical town on the south coast of Turkey. It was one of the most important marine cities and wine production sites of the Lycian civilization and is now surrounded by rock tombs and ruins of the ancient city Antiphellos.
Right across from Kas, there is the Greek island Kastelorizo . It is only 3 miles (5 km) away from Kas. There are daily excursions by boats to Kastelorizo and also to another antique city of Lycian Civilization, the Kekova Island.
Kas is the marriage of beauty and the deep blue Mediterranean Sea. In Kas, the center of the historic Lycian Region, the Taurus Mountains embrace the sea as they continue to the great depths of the Mediterranean. The area is rocky all around, which helps to keep the bay crystal clear.
Kas was once the site of an ancient city Antiphellos. Today the only remains of this Lycian city are the rock-cut tombs and sarcophagi. You can wander through the streets stopping to examine the souvenir shops that offer Turkish handicrafts, leather goods, silver items, cotton clothing, and handmade carpets. After shopping, stroll along the flower-lined Akdeniz Promenade or relax under the shade of a palm tree. There are many bars and restaurants in Kas that offer plenty of night life.
Kas was one of the most important marine cities and wine production sites of The Lycian civilization and is now surrounded by rock tombs and ruins of the ancient city Antiphellos. In one area between the open sea and the hills, probably the acropolis of the ancient city, lies a rock tomb built with Doric triglyphs on the facade. Inside the tomb is a frieze of dancing female figures.
The acropolis was surrounded by a fortified wall, of which traces are to be seen on the facade facing the island of Meis (Kastellorizon), three miles across the water from Kas. To the west of Kas stands the well-preserved ancient theatre, possessing a remarkable view. There are also rock tombs to the north east of the town, carved into the steep cliffs. On the western edge of the acropolis, there are traces of a temple, and tombs of the Roman period are scattered about the town and along the coast.
In 1982 at Uluburun Bay 8.5 kilometers south east of Kas, the oldest intact ship wreck in the world was discovered and subsequently excavated. This was a Bronze Age ship dating to 14th century with a cargo of copper ingots and various objects originating from different parts of ancient world. Discovered at 45 meters depth by a sponge diver Mehmet Cakir, Uluburun wreck was one of the most difficult ships to excavate because of the great depth of the wreck. First dated to Early Bronze Age by the Turkish archaeologists, Uluburun wreck was excavated by Institute of Nautical Archaeology and Texas A&M University starting from 1984. Uluburun Excavations lasted 11 summer campaigns during which 22.400 dives were accomplished by the underwater archaeologist under the direction of Cemal Pulak.