back
Your Business
advertised here
Xanthos
In 1839 the British archaeologist Sir Charles Fellows published “A Journal written during an Excursion in Asia Minor”, an account of his explorations of the River Xanthos valley where he discovered the ruins of the ancient cities: Patara at the mouth of the river, Xanthos on a hill nine miles inland and Tlos in the upper valley.
Fellow's book attracted the attention of the British Government and of the British Museum and with the Sultan's permission a number of works of art found in Xanthos and Patara were shipped to England. In 1842 a tomb shaped like a small Ionic temple decorated with statues of the Nereids (sea nymphs who helped sailors) was removed and reconstructed in the British Museum.
The entrance to Xanthos is flanked by two monuments which represent two phases of its history:
1) The conquest by Alexander the Great and then becoming part of the kingdom founded by Seleucus, one of Alexander's generals.
2) The long period of Roman rule originally assigned to the King of Pergamum, an ally of the Romans then later when in 133 BC after Attalus III died, Xanthos became part of the Roman province of Asia. It enjoyed a period of great prosperity in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD as an arch built
in honour of Emperor Vespasian shows. Rome and most of other the cities of the Ancient World restricted the building of grave buildings inside the city walls. Lycians had different views and the richest citizens were able to build their monuments right in the centre of the city market. In Xanthos two monuments which stand between the theatre and the agora have become famous landmarks of the archaeological site. Both monuments were decorated with carved figures but those on the "Gothic" tomb have been removed and are in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul and those on the “Harpy Tomb" are in the British Museum (see above), they have been replaced by plaster casts on site. The carvings show Harpies (winged death-spirits) flying off with souls.
The current theatre was built in the 2nd century AD, most likely on the same site of a smaller theatre which was cut into the rock. The new theatre was supported by thick walls and two archways giving access to the auditorium. Only the upper rows of seats are missing as they were used at a later time to build defensive walls.
A colonnaded street crosses the whole market area with some plinths which held statues and a tall pillar tomb with a very long inscription in the language of the Lycians (which has yet to be fully understood).
The archaeological site is divided by a local road and the eastern part is still being excavated. it shows evidence of the Byzantine period a large basilica with mosaics (currently covered for protection) was built on the site of an earlier Roman temple.
Xanthos has only a few rock-cut tombs which are located at the top of a hill opposite the theatre which are among the oldest tombs of this kind as they are not shaped like a small temple. The many tombs of Xanthos have different styles, although those having a "Gothic" lid are the most common.
Xanthos is easy to access and many travel companies organise day trips to the city often coupled with a visit to Saklikent and Patara.
xanthos
Xanthos
Lycian Capital
Myra
Home of St. Nicholas
Xanthos
Lycian Capital
Phellos
High City
Antiphellos
Ancient Kaş
Tlos
Mountain City