ANTALYA Patara
Patara is one of the oldest and most important ancient cities of Lycia, as it was already known by the Hittites as Patar. Patara was the birthplace of Apollo : her mother Leto, fleeing from the island of Delos and Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, the father of the twins Artemis and Apollo, said that in fact she would have given birth in Patara. The city was famous for the Oracle of Apollo only kept open in winter (in summer the oracle was held in Delos). Patara was the main Lycian port (today a swamp) and it was saved from destruction by opening its gates to Alexander the Great . During the Hellenistic period, it was a naval base used in turn by Antigonus in 315 BC, the Ptolemies (under their rule and for a short while Patara was renamed Arsinoe after Ptolemaios II’s wife), and Antiochus III in 190 BC. The saying “Caput Gentis” or “the Ancestor’s Capital” uttered by Roman admiral Livius to describe Patara, shows that it outshoned all the other cities. Patara had a three – vote right in the Lycian League. It became the juridical seat of the Roman governors who turned it into a port from where the Roman fleet maintained contacts with the eastern provinces. Also crops were stored here and kept for shipment to Rome. During this period, Patara became the capital of both Lycian and Pamphylian provinces. From here, St Paul sailed for Phoenicia. Patara, where St Nicholas was born, became a Christian center. About this period, the harbor of Patara was totally silted up and the city progressively lost its importance. Since then the place has been gradually covered with sand dunes. Turkish prof. Fahri Işık and his team from Akdeniz University have been trying to dig the city out from under the sand.
Among the most significant vestiges there are:
The Necropolis with Lycian sarcophagi and Roman tombs.
The Harbor Church whose remains emerge from the water.
The Arch of Triumph, or monumental gate which was the entrance to the city, was built in 100 AD by Roman governor Mettius Modestus. At the same time this arch was used as a part of the aqueduct that brought water to Patara.
The Roman Date Baths, whose name was due to the date trees nearby, had a floor decorated with mosaics.
The Road Sign, showing the distances between the Lycian cities, was ordered by Emperor Claudius. It is the world’ s oldest and most comprehensive road sign.
The Vespasian Baths are located behind a church and next to the Tomb of Marcianus.
The Main Avenue, 12.5 m / 41 ft wide, was the widest avenue in Anatolian ancient cities. Today it is partly flooded.
The Central Baths are located at the eastern end of the avenue.
The Walls of the Byzantine Fortress and a Corinthian Temple outside.
The Theatre, built in 147 AD, still shows traces of sand under which it was half buried.
The Ecclesterium was Anatolia largest administration building.
The Cistern, located at the top of the hill behind the theatre, has been carved into the rock. Nearby is a part of the walls of the harbor lighthouse.
Hadrian’ s Granery (granarium) can be seen in a swamp next to the harbour.
The Temple Tomb and other monument tombs of various size.
A large bust of Apollo, discovered on the hill beyond the City Gate, indicates the existence of an Apollo Temple which has not been yet localized.
Patara, which is an ideal place to spend a vacation away from the crowd, has a superb fine sand beach stretching on 22 kms / 14 miles which allows the practice of sports such as surfing on sand.
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