erkan

erkan

  • Joined: 4 September 2025
  • Articles: 140

Dolichiste Ancient City

Ancient city of Dolichiste, sunken city of Kekova Island, underwater stairs.

Located on the northern coast of Kekova Island and submerged by earthquakes in the 2nd century A.S. (A.D.), Dolichiste Ancient City is a fascinating underwater heritage known as the "Sunken City" in the archaeological world. As a member of the four-city league led by Aperlai, the city offers a melancholic silhouette of a marine town where time has stood still, featuring stairs, shop thresholds, and port structures discernible beneath the clear Mediterranean waters under a special environmental protection status.

Daedala Ancient City

Rock tombs of the ancient city of Daedala and İnlice Asarı Hill, Fethiye.

Controlling the Gulf of Fethiye from above and hidden among pine forests, Daedala Ancient City (İnlice Asarı) formed the sharp border between the Lycian League and the territories under Rhodian rule in antiquity. With its nature matching its name meaning "Little Pine Forest" in the Luwian language, its geopolitical importance in the notes of Strabo of Amasya, its acropolis walls, and rock tombs, it stands as a silent border guardian of western Lycia.

Choma Ancient City

Mound of the ancient city of Choma, Lycian ruins in the Elmalı Plain

Located at the center of the fertile Elmalı Plain, Choma Ancient City (Hacımusalar Mound) is one of the most deeply rooted memory centers of the Lycian geography with its 5,000 years of uninterrupted settlement layers. With its broad chronology extending from the Early Bronze Age to the Byzantine period, ingenious mudbrick defense systems, rare ceiling mosaics, and frescoes, it is a magnificent mound settlement that stands apart from classical stone cities and controls the plain.

Boubon Ancient City

Ruins of Dikmen Tepe, ancient city of Boubon

Tucked away among kermes oak thickets at the northernmost tip of Lycia, Boubon Ancient City is a strategic fortress protecting the border lines. Having earned 3 voting rights in the Lycian League thanks to its resistance against bandit gangs, the city harbors one of the proudest stories of mountainous Lycia with its famous imperial bronze statues plundered and returned years later, its Sebasteion area, and its fascinating location on Dikmen Tepe.

Balboura Ancient City

Balboura antik kenti kalıntıları ve 1600 metre yükseklikteki Akropolis Burdur Altınyayla

Established at an altitude of 1,600 meters above sea level and bearing the title of the highest-elevation settlement in Lycia, Balboura Ancient City is an isolated heritage at the summit of the mountains. As part of the Tetrapolis alliance formed with Kibyra, the city is a mountain settlement awaiting discovery with its small theater set against the hillside, land inscriptions documenting the socio-economic past of noble landowners, and fascinating scenery.

Arykanda Ancient City

Arykanda antik kenti tiyatrosu ve Şahinkaya yamaç kalıntıları Finike

Rising as an engineering marvel on the steep slopes of Şahinkaya, Arykanda Ancient City is one of the most unique cities in Lycia with its terraced architecture. Serving as a cedar trade hub in antiquity, the city resembles an eagle's nest in the mountains with its well-preserved theater, stadium, aqueducts carved into the rock face, and UNESCO tentative heritage status.

Arsada Ancient City

Arsada antik kenti

Situated at a strategic point in the Xanthos Valley, Arsada Ancient City is a hidden gem reflecting Lycia's rural defensive architecture. Rediscovered by Thomas Spratt, the city awaits discovery with its inscriptions documenting an advanced democratic honoring system, traces of the Apollo cult, fortification walls, and a commanding panoramic view of the valley.

Xanthos Ancient City

General view of the ancient theater and the ancient city of Xanthos.

Xanthos (Arnna), the city of those who marched to death for freedom. Read the tragic history, the plundered treasures, and the heroic stories featured in Homer's epics of this UNESCO World Heritage Lycian capital on the Voice of Lycia.

Arneai Ancient City

Arneai antik kenti surları ve Likya yazıtlı bloklar Ernez Köyü

Experience Arneai, Lycia's only official guest house! Discover the story of Arneai, the hidden treasure of Ernez Village, shaped by the generous donations of the noblewoman Lalla, featuring structures transformed from baths into guesthouses and inscriptions dedicated to the local god Tobaloas.

Araxa Ancient City

Araxa antik kenti kalıntıları

Discover Araxa, established at the source of the ancient Xanthos River, at the intersection of three regions. The story of this city, which means 'Shrine with an Altar,' mentioned in Plinius's notes, and which preserves its mystery today with its silent ruins...