THE ANCIENT CITY OF PHASELIS

According to the ancient conveyances, the city has been founded by the leadership of Lindos, city of Rhodos island, around 691/690 BC. The city used to be an important trade center in a short while by using its well location and the three natural harbours, which are on the South Mediternean Maritime Route of Egypt, Phoenicia, Aegea and Greece.

The peninsula, which Phaselis ancient city was located on, is seperated from the inner areas because of the Tahtalı Mountain rising just behind it and the Klimaks Mountain Chain at the north of this mountain. Through the epigraphic documents it can be detected that the borders of the Phaselis territory reached to Gökdere Valley to the north, lying on a line from Three Islands to Tahtalı Mountain to the south and during the Çandır Valley to the west. The settlement area, which is ranging over to an amount of area around 288 decares, is reaching to the peninsula, sticking out to the sea and the hill at the north of the city.

At the entrance of the city, the terrace walls of the temple, which were made of big and nice shaped stones, can still be seen. On the terrace at north of this terrace, there is a water source, which was one of the ones to supply the water need of the city and remainings of the houses. The aquaducts, which could reach until present day, are one of the best protected constructions of the city.

The harbour of the city and the South harbour are connected with the Main Street. Because of connecting both harbours properly and shortly and also because of its central location inside the city region, this street has constituted the main core of the city during Roman Empire Age. On the northwest slopes of the acropolis of the city, the Theater, which still have its scene and cavea remaining, is located and it is for around 1500 people. Across the theater there is the Tetragonal Agora, which is constructed for Hadrianus as it can be understood from the dedication inscription, the Small Roman Bath and the Latrina, which has mosaic floor and deep canals around. The earliest construction on the main Street, which we can determine an exact date, is the Domitian Agora, which is known from the inscription on the entrance of the building that is dedicated to Domitianus (81-96 AD). Therefore the construction is dated to 1st century AD, according to the inscription over the gate of it.

The South Harbour and the Main Street are seperated from each other by a very monumental gate, located on the entrance of the harbour. This monumental gate with only one arch is constructed in honour of the visit of Emperor Hadrian, as a part of his Asia Minor journey.

The city has three necropolises. These are the Northeast, the Northwest and the West necropolises.