THE ENCHANTING COAST OF OLYMPOS
Charming Olympos, with its natural beauty and superb
accommodation options, is a favourite stopping point for yachts departing
Kemer. Olympos is the ideal place to explore and rest in the peace and quiet of
enchanting nature, forgoing time and space on a fantastic coastline, amid the
splendid ruins of Antiquity, among forests and tree houses and the fire that
has been burning for thousands of years. With its accommodation facilities
together with its nature, Olympos is one of the most preferred destinations for
a holiday.
The Olympos coast attracts many visitors every year
including migrating loggerhead sea turtles ( caretta caretta) ! The beaches are
one of the few breeding grounds of the sea turtles and have been taken under
environmental protection.
The beaches and ruins of Olympos, adorned with nerium
oleanders and bay laurels, are about 35 kilometres outside Kemer. The road from
Kemer leading west follows the coastline until it reaches Ulupinar Village,
then passes through the forests to reach Olympos.
The Ancient City of Olympos
is situated to the south of Phaselis, near the Cirali Village and it was one of
the prominent members of the Lycian League in the 2nd century BC.
Just like its neighbouring city Phaselis, Olympos too suffered the corsair
raids on account of its attractive position and was rescued by the Romans in 78
BC. Olympos was famous during the Roman period for the cult of Hephaestus, the
god of fire and metalwork. Later, Olympos once more became a target of corsairs
and lost its riches and importance. However, it had not departed the scene of
history until the 15th century A.D.
The ruins of the ancient city that survive from the Roman
and Byzantine eras are adorned with bay laurel trees and situated along the
stream( Akdere) once passing through the middle of the city.
During the
Antiquity the sides of the streams were walled and became a canal allowing
ships to come into the city as far as the bridge connecting both sides of the
city. Today, only the pillars of the bridge are visible. The main road of
Olympos runs parallel to the stream. A hill, which is visible from the beach,
bears the ruins of the defensive walls belonging to Olympos acropolis that was
later converted into a fortress during the Middle Ages.
Under the acropolis there are 2 burial chambers used in the
2nd and 5th centuries A.D. There is one sarcophagus in
one of the chambers and 2 sarcophagi in the other. The floor of chamber
containing 2 sarcophagi was decorated with lion and soldier depicting masaics.
One of the sarcophagi bears a relief of a ship and an inscription mentioning
the voyages of the Captain Eudomos who is believed to be the person interred in
the tomb. Along the 2 stream are the ruins of a monumental tomb containing sarcophagi.
Near the tomb are the ruins of a bishop’s house which had 2 storeys and mosaic
adorned floors from the 5th century A.D. Also a temple of Ionic
order is visible among the ruins.
The temple once erected on columns lie
scattered among the trees. Only the gate is standing at present. The
inscription over the gate states that the temple was built during the reign of
Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
The other side of the stream can be reached by stepping
stones and is the site of the bathhouse, theatre, walls and basilica ruins. The
theatre is probably from the Roman period while the walls and the basilica are
Byzantine. On that side are also the 3 side colonnaded large building believed
to be the agora and gymnasium, another Byzantine building and the city’s necropolis.
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