The area now designated the Antalya province is the general center of classical Lycia. Milas was included by some writers in the district, but the more important cities seem to have been Patara (Gelemls) in the Xanthus Valley, Telmessus (Fethiye), and Myra (Demre). Perhaps it is Lycians who are mentioned in an Egyptian account of the Hittite battle at Kadesh. They may also be the Luqqa of fourteenth and thirteenth century Hittite documents.
Lycia was a geopolitical region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey, and Burdur Province inland. Known to history since the records of ancient Egypt and the Hittite Empire in the Late Bronze Age, it was populated by speakers of the Luwian language group. Written records began to be inscribed in stone in the Lycian language (a later form of Luwian) after Lycia’s involuntary incorporation into the Achaemenid Empire in the Iron Age. At that time (546 BC) the Luwian speakers were decimated, and Lycia received an influx of Iranian speakers.
Lycia fought for the Persians in the Persian Wars, but on the defeat of the Achaemenid Empire by the Greeks, it became intermittently a free agent. After a brief membership in the Athenian Empire, it seceded and became independent (its treaty with Athens had omitted the usual non-secession clause), was under the Persians again, revolted again, was conquered by Mausolus of Caria, returned to the Persians, and went under Macedonian hegemony at the defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great. Due to the influx of Greek speakers and the sparsity of the remaining Lycian speakers, Lycia was totally Hellenized under the Macedonians. The Lycian language disappeared from inscriptions and coinage.
On defeating Antiochus III in 188 the Romans gave Lycia to Rhodes for 20 years, taking it back in 168 BC. In these latter stages of the Roman republic Lycia came to enjoy freedom as part of the Roman protectorate. The Romans validated home rule officially under the Lycian League in 168 BC. This native government was an early federation with democratic principles; these later came to the attention of the framers of the United States Constitution, influencing their thoughts.
Despite home rule under democratic principles Lycia was not a sovereign state and had not been since its defeat by the Carians. In 43 AD the Roman emperor, Claudius, dissolved the league. Lycia was incorporated into the Roman Empire with a provincial status. It became an eparchy of the Eastern, or Byzantine Empire, continuing to speak Greek even after being joined by communities of Turkish language speakers in the early 2nd millennium. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century, Lycia was under the Ottoman Empire, and was inherited by the Turkish Republic on the fall of that empire. The Greeks were withdrawn when the border between Greece and Turkey was negotiated in 1923.
Lycia today is a substantial component of the Turquoise Coast. It is of interest not only for recreation and sport, but as a location of antiquities going back as early as the Bronze Age. The ruins of ancient Lycia are seemingly everywhere. For reasons unknown, perhaps isolation, recycling of the building stone was minimal compared to other regions.
Lycia,
We saw these fascinating tombs on a river cruise on the dalyan river they really are a great sight and an ancient wonder of there world if you like your history then this is a certain must.
As a regular visitor to Turkey, we didn't hesitate to go on a Thomas Cook trip that included seeing the Lycian Rock Tombs. We had a fab guide on our boat trip from Diana Travel, who explained that there are said to be 127 of these across the hillside. He also advised us that at the time of the Kings'…
These tombs are visible from most riverside reataurants in Dalyan. They are lit up at night and are fascinating. The facades are missing but what is left intrigues the imagination. We were able to get quite near when we crossed the river from Dalyan and walked up to Kaunos.
We took Dalyan trip from Marmaris. This was the most intersting part of the trip. I suggest to see there once you are in the area, but if it is possible, don't take a daily trip to see there. The daily trip is so boring, long and terrible food on the boat. If you find a way to go there…
I went to a trip to Dalyan. We made a stop to see the turtles and to the Iztuzu beach.
The beach is very clean, with a great fine sand. We even had some waves which was actually really great. From 20.00 to 8.00 in the morning you can't come to the beach because you'll interrupt the turtle breeding activity…
Our day trip on a large boat saw us being transfered onto small boats that took us past these rock tombs, they are an amazing feat of building
these can only be viewed from a distance from the daylan river or when walking to cunos, but thet are still wierd to look at and wonder
Here again is a wonderful part of this little town Dalyan. While you are walking along the river you can see the tombs. The best way to get close is to have a boat trip and they will take you as near as you wont. It is a wonderful part of of Turkish history and a trade mark of Dalyan.
While you can't climb up to the rock tombs any more, they are clearly visible, especially if you cross the river. They are also illuminated at night giving Dalyan a spectacular backdrop.
The tombs tower above Dalyan and look incredible. At night they are lit up and look a little spooky when you think about what they are. But they are a marvel, tombs carved into the cliff face, amazing when you consider the skill it must have taken!
You'll see the tombs on any boat trip headed down towards Iztuzu beach…