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Letoon
It
is near Kumluova Village at 65th km of Fethiye - Kas
highway. In accordance with a story told by the poet
Ovidius, the city was established in the name of Leto, who
became pregnant from Zeus. The traces of old settlement in
the city goes back to 7th century BC. The ruins and the
inscriptions obtained show that this place was a religious
and political area. There are three temples at the center of
the ruin place side by side. The one at the most northern
direction is devoted to Leto, the one in the middle is
devoted to Artemis and the one in the south is devoted to
Apollo. In the southwest of the temples, there is a fountain
building and just beside it, there is a church. In the
northern side of the city, there is a Stoa and a theater,
which gives its rear side to the natural slope partially,
belonging to the Hellenistic Period. Letoon has been left in
the 7th century AD.
PATARA
There
are a number of stories connected with the founding of
Patara, one of Lycia's principal harbours. Some ancient
sources relate the legend that, the city was established by
Patarus, the son of Apollo and Lycia, a nymph of the river
Xanthos. Strabo describes the city as a large port, also
explaining that it was founded by Patarus. In reality,
however, Lycians founded the city, and its name, as seen on
inscriptions and coins, was Patar in the Lycian language.
Patara
derived its fame in ancient times from the oracle of Apollo
situated there. Oracles in the temple, which was kept open
only during the winter months, sought answers to questions
concerning the future.
Patara,
which passed into the hands of Alexander the Great in 334
B.C., retained its importance as a commercial centre and
naval base throughout the Hellenistic period. In the course
of Egyptian domination, Ptolemaios II (reigned 285-246 B.C)
changed the city's name to Arsinoe in honour of his wife.
Apparently however, the name did not catch on, and before
long its original name was again in use.
Another
interesting event in Patara's historical record occurred in
the year 42 B.C. during Brutus' seige of the city following
his capture of Xanthos. By surrounding Patara, Brutus,
holding up the tragic end of Xanthos as an example, hoped
the Patarans would surrender without bloodshed. When his
proposal was turned down, Brutus began to auction to the
Patarans as slaves, people he had captured from neighbouring
Xanthos, whose citizens were related to the Patarans. When
this initiative also failed to produce results, he put his
forces into action the next morning. When the Patarans
grasped the seriousness of their situation they sent word of
their surrender. Brutus killed no one after entering the
city, but wanted the people to turn their valuable
possessions over to him. They obeyed. Then a slave informed
Brutus that his master had hidden gold. In the trial the
slave's owner said nothing, but his mother, in tears,
announced that her son was innocent, that it was she who had
concealed the gold. Even though the slave objected to the
woman's testimony, Brutus must have been moved by the
silence of the young man and the suffering of his mother,
for he let them go free and punished the slave for informing
against his master.
Under
Roman domination, Patara again became one of Lycia's leading
ports and received the title of metropolis. The Roman
provincial governor resided in Patara and the official
archives of the region were kept here as well. During this
period, St. Paul passed through Patara on his way to Rome
(60 A.D). It is also known that the Emperor Hadrian, along
with his wife, stayed for a time in the city. In addition,
it undoubtedly won special honour during the Christian era
as the birthplace of St. Nicholas.
When
one enters the ruins via a stabilized road, the first
monumental structure to catch the eye is the city gate.
According to the inscription on it, it was erected in the
name of Mettius Modestus, the Roman governor of
Lycia-Pamphylia around 100 A.D., and his family. Busts of
the governor and members of his family were supported by
consoles on either side of the triple arched gate, which is
in the form of a typical Roman triumphal arch.
The
remains of several buildings are visible on the side nearest
the sea along the plain at the foot of the hills. Even
though it is not possible to name these building with
certainty, one can partly distinguish, hidden among the
overgrowth, a bath and a Byzantine basilica with a nave and
side aisles. The most important and best preserved structure
in this area is a small temple in the Corinthian order.
Measuring 13x16 metres and rising above a small podium, the
Temple of Inantis is highly decorated, especially its 6
metre high cella door. It has been dated to the second
century A.D.
The
ruins of a large bath are located to the south of the
temple. From its inscripion it is apparent that the bath,
dedicated to the Emperor Vespasian (reigned 69-79 A.D.) who
made monetary contributions to public works in the region,
was comprised of five main intercommunicating compartments,
each having its own specific function. The small chambers in
the eastern part of the bath made up the boiler section.
Small holes visible in the stone walls of the building were
made by nails that held marble-facing panels in place.
On
the north-east slope of the hill is a well preserved
theatre. The cavea, which leans into the slope, is divided
in two by a diazoma entered by two galleries on the east and
west. Because the cavea and the orchestra are completely
covered by sand from the sea, it is impossible to be certain
about the state of the seats. On the lower floor of the
two-storey stage building are the five doors standard to
Roman theatre architecture. On the outer face of the stage
building is a long inscription in Greek, according to which,
a Pataran woman named Vilia Procula had the building
constructed in 147 A.D. and dedicated it to Emperor
Antoninus Pius; however, the theatre must be older than
this. Similarly, another inscription mentions a priestess of
Apollo in connection with certain repairs carried out during
the reign of the Emperor Tiberius (reigned 14-37 A.D.)
Besides
a few tombs and large cistern, the hill where the theatre is
located, presumed to be the acropolis, contains no other
ruins worth describing.
On
the western side of the ancient harbour, which is now a
marsh, is a granary which a Latin inscription informs us was
erected in the name of the Emperor Hadrian. This enormous
structure, completely intact except for the roof, contains
eight long grain bins. Eight separate doors along the front
of the building give entry to these storage areas.
A
building in the form of a temple and exhibiting excellent
masonry, is situated to the north of the granary. The
colonnaded facade, approached by steps on its harbour side,
and the half-columns on the outer face of the one wall still
standing, indicate that the building was probably a
pseudoperipteral temple or a monumental tomb.
Pinara
It
is near Minare Village at a distance of 45 km to Fethiye. In
Lichean language, Pinale or Pınara means "round".
In accordance with mythology, when the population of Xanthos
increased too much, a group of old people left the city and
established Pınara City on a round hill at the skirts of
Kragos Mountain. The remainders of the city that could reach
today are the ruins of the rock graves and sarcophagus
graves and buildings such as city walls, bath, theater,
agora, Odeon. The city, which has lived a number of great
earthquakes has lost its importance completely after the 8th
century AD.
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