THE ANCIENT CITY OF LIMYRA

The ancient city of Limyra is located in Saklısu Village of Finike town of province of Antalya, and consists of the acropolis with the early period buildings on the southern piedmont of Toçak Mountain and the flat terrain inside the Roman and East Roman (Byzantian) city walls, locating at the south and divided from the other areas by the present road.

The name of Limyra is mentioned as “Zemuri” in Lycian tablets. This situation proofs that the city was a settlement at least from 5th century BC. The city had its heyday in the first half of 4th century BC, while Perikle was King of Lycia and the city was the capital of the region. The historic records about the region prove that Persian were achieving a domination, while Perikle was striving to create the Lycian Union and to enlarge his reign area. But we can say that this Persian domination remained unfulfilled and Limyra was also in a huge freedom like the other cities.

The next heyday for the city after Perikle Period was 2nd-3rd centuries AD and it was recontructed in spite of the big damages of the earthquakes. The city, which was a bishopric center while the East Roman (Byzantian) Period, was left after the Arabian attacks in 8th-9th centuries AD.

The Acropolis located at the northern part of the city consists of an inner castle and an lower castle. In lower castle, there are city walls, cisterns, church and the Heroon of perikle. This monumental tomb was dated to 4th century AD and have importance with its architecture reminding the Nereids Monument of Xanthos and with the important pieces under exhibition in Antalya Museum. At the starting of flat terrain of the Acropolis, just near the road between Turunçova and Kumluca, the theater building, which is originally from Hellenistic Period and had an extensive repair in 141 AD, is situated.

The southern of the road is like two islands on east and west, divided by the Limyros River. At the area inside the Early East Roman (Byzantian) Period city walls at the West of Limyros, there are older ruins. The building, so was called as Ptolemaion, was unearthed inside the sothernd part of the city Wall. This monument, which was built in Hellenistic Period and the sculpture remainings of it on exhibition in Antalya Museum, are very important findings. Another important building situated in the area is a monumental tomb, which was constructed in 4th century AD to the name of Gaius Ceasar who is adopted son of Augustus. This monument was built because of death of Gaius Ceasar in Limyra, while traveling from Jerusalem back to Rome. The dead body or the ashes inside the urne was taken back to Rome but the monumental tomb (kenotaph) without the body was built in memory of him.

Limyra is one of the cities which has the most rock-cut tombs in Lycia Region. There are more than four hundred rock-cut tombs in the city and most of them known with the epitaphs written in Lycian language.