Myra / Demre / Kale

Located at the southeastern end of the Teke peninsula, the plain of Demre is formed by the alluvia carried by Demre creek as it springs from the slopes of Mount Akdağ and reaches the sea, carrying with it the soil of Kasaba plain. The remains of the ancient city of Myra, established at a point where the semicircular plain of Demre, formed by the arc of the Taurus Mountains towards the north which then bends towards the sea, joins the hillside are reached by passing through the district.Demre is today one of the foremost touristic centres of the region thanks to, primarily, the Church of St. Nicholas and its unique rock tombs as well as the splendid coast. In the Luwian/Etruscan language the name of the city is found to be “Maura” which meant “Place of the Great Mother Goddess”.

Over the years it changed, first to “Mura” and then to Myra. Moreover, the name Myra can be meaningfully read in the old Gök Turk writing. Accordingly, the name Myra can be read as “place of Amay” meaning “place of Amay Mother-Great Mother”. Lying on the slope of the mountains, surrounding the plain of Demre in the northwest, facing the sea, the remains of the acropolis city can be seen. The walls of the acropolis, at an elevation of 200 m, were built of Cyclopean stones. It is understood that the history of the area, referred to as Termilia in the Lycian inscriptions, dates back to several thousand years B.C. After the establishment of the Lycian Federation during the 7th century B.C. the city people moved down from the acropolis and settled on the plain where the current remains of the ancient city are found. Myra minted its first coin with a depiction of the mother goddess on it during the 4th century B.C.
 
Myra, which was one of the major cities of the Lycian Federation, having the right of three votes, remained under Persian occupation until 300 B.C. and was then captured by pirates. At the point where Myra creek, dried up today, flowed into the Mediterranean after running through the city there was a port settlement unit named Andriake. Due to the unsuitability of the river bed for ship transportation, the ships entering the river could go right into the city of Myra. Thus the city, with its highly developed maritime commerce, was exposed to invasions during various periods. Therefore, in order to protect Myra, essentially a major city, thick chains were drawn at the mouth of the river in the port of Andriake to prevent the entry of enemy ships in times of danger. When these chains were broken by the Roman Lentulus in 42 B.C. the city was seized by the Romans. Myra enjoyed the peak of its prosperity when it was adorned with various structures during the Pax Romana era. The city, which was promoted to the status of a metropolis during the Byzantine period in the 2nd century A.D., became a major centre of Christianity and achieved great fame as a result of the efforts of a bishop named St. Nicholas who lived during the 4th century. When St. Nicholas died here a church was built in his name. The city, which sustained damages as a result of the Arab raids during the 7th and 9th centuries, remained under Arab occupation for a while and when Turks came to the area during the late 11th century they settled down on the flatland in front of the Ancient City of Myra and established today’s district of Demre.

Today Demre is the centre of citrus fruit groves and greenhouses. The remains of the antique city lie in the area called Kocademre located 1 km to the north of the district. The first notable work in the area where the remains are found is the theatre. The theatre, with a diameter of 110 m, reckoned to have been rebuilt in the 2nd century A.D. upon the remains of the small theatre which existed previously, bears the architectural characteristics of the Roman era. In front of the theatre, next to the creek Demre, it is thought that a large Agora existed, surrounded by Doric order columns. The Agora square, which also appears to have been used as a theatre square, is today entirely buried under the silt. Theatre tiers were built into the side of the acropolis hill and two vomitory spectator entrance sites, in which flights of stone steps rising equal to the stage building in height can be seen. Spectators entering the theatre at these points came to the diazoma and from the diazoma they reached, again via flights of vertical stone steps, the lower and upper caveas. The caveas are divided into two by a diazoma measuring 3 m in width, with 29 tiers on the lower section and 9 tiers on the upper section. In the very midst of the diazoma is a relief of Fortune, Goddess of Luck, on the wall at the point corresponding to the apsis. An apsis to be drawn from this relief corresponds exactly to the midpoint of the orchestra. A stone protection wall built at a height of 2 m during the late Roman epoch indicates that the Theatre was also used as an arena for gladiator combat and wild animals during this era. It appears that the stage building was two-storeyed and that on the first floor of the front façade arched niches between columns of Ionic orders were faced with marble plates embellished with rich plant reliefs.

Furthermore, the lower section of the podium of the stage building is embellished with friezes ornamented with theatre masks, reliefs and various plants. At the entrance of the theatre is an inscription giving information on the funding and rebuilding, by Opramoas from Rodiapolis, of the theatre which was ruined as a result of the great earthquake in 141 A.D. On an inscription found on the ground at the southern entrance of the theatre, on the other hand, is an obelisk setting out the import and export conditions of the city. Although the foundation of the acropolis walls located immediately to the north of the theatre dates back to very ancient eras, it is understood that their upper part was rebuilt in the 6th century B.C. To the western side of the walls made of dressed stone using the polygonal technique is the old city gate, 4 m wide by 9 m high, visible. Towers were built on both sides of the gate. To the eastern slope of the acropolis, on the other hand, are the remains of an aqueduct, 20 km long. It is reckoned that through the connections of water canals built by rock-carving at occasional places this aqueduct carried fresh water from the tablelands in the north into the city. In ancient times the antique city of Myra was protected in its environs by several walls at various points up to Andriake, its port connection, and along Demre creek, and by way of building guard and watch towers at specific points its river trade was intended to be taken under protection.

The most important ruin of the ancient city of Myra visible today is the Necropolis full of Lycian rock tombs, the only one of its kind in the world. As Lycians believed that, after death, the spirits of humans would be taken by a winged angel and brought first to the heavens and then underground to hell, or Hades, to be questioned, they always put their dead into sarcophagi placed on a high rocky podium or in the rock tombs carved into the rock face high up on the mountains. These rock tombs, also found in Myra, have been carved into a sheer slope facing east. These house-type tombs carved into the front façades had one or several chambers and the dead were placed into the chamber, again onto a rock-carved podium, together with their favourite articles, jewellery, clothes and food. The rock tombs had a single entrance which was closed with a large boulder. On the face of the rock tombs are reliefs about the professions of the dead when they were alive. Inscriptions on the tombs were all written in the Lycian language and spaces between tombs were interconnected via stone steps.

A rock tomb located at the topmost point with the façade carved in the form of a columnar temple is notable for its reliefs. Here, the family members, wife and children of the dead are stylised in clothing of the era and he himself in his warrior’s outfits. Various instants from the person’s life are depicted. Going westwards one arrives at a rock tomb on which the relief of two warriors is carved. Here, an instant in which a warrior behind, with a shield in his right hand, chases a soldier in front of him is illustrated. East of the theatre the remains of a bathhouse can be seen, with three arches and high chambers, 36 m wide and built of brick in three sections with a large arched door at the entrance. There are shops selling authentic local souvenirs, cafeterias and restaurants in the area where the remains are found.