Patara - Turkey

Liman Caddesi - Harbour Street

We are planning to set out tomorrow - June 21st - for our trip up the Turkish Coast.  It is possibly the wrong way to go as we will be sailing against the prevailing winds but it is the way we need to go.  The sail back down to Marmaris will be easier as we will be sailing with the wind.  Since we are getting ready to depart lovely Kaş, Turkey we thought we should take a day and make a trip to Patara - birthplace of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus).  

Inside the Assembly Building

Patara was once a major seaport for the ancient Lycian civilization.  Eventually the port silted up and the area lost prominence.  Like most ruins here there is evidence of the various reigning empires.  And like most cities in the region Patara (along with all of Lycia) surrendered to Alexander the Great!  However, Patara's claim to fame is that the city is the birthplace of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus or Noel Baba).  St. Nicholas inherited a bit of wealth when his parents passed.  Legend has it that he then distributed that wealth to the poor by giving secret gifts.  Definitely seems as though he started something... although our gift giving is not often in secret!

Roman Theatre

The remarkable feature in my view was the Assembly building.  Outside of the building were plaques honoring various important people.  The stones had the ancient Greek wording chiseled into them.  Archeologists had interpreted them and so you could see who they were honoring and why.  Somehow the writing makes it all so real for me.  Remarkable!

Plaque outside Assembly Building

Its always awe inspiring to me to think that I am walking on the same ground that Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and other ancient legends trod.  I have been reading about Alexander the Great lately and to see the place names and battles mentioned at sites like Patara just brings it all home.

Reed Boat replica

 

 

 

 

In addition, to the fabulous ruins there was on site a replica of  a reed boat that would have been common at the time.  The replica on display at Patara was actually sailed to test the viability of the ancient maritime trade routes mentioned in Herodotus writings. 

After an hour or so trudging through the ruins we were really hot!!  So we headed over to Patara beach for a quick dip in the Mediterranean to cool off.   Since we had a car for the day we then went to complete our provisioning for the trip up the coast.  Busy, busy day!

Assembly Hall of the Lycian League