We will depart from hotel at 5:30 in the morning and head for Demre. We will have a breaf break on the half way. Upon arrivel at Demre, we will visit Lycian Rock Tombs and impressive St. Nicholas Church. After lunch break, we will embark on a delightful boat ride to Kekova – Simena. One we arrive there, you will have chance to swim at the dockyard bay. Excursion will end at 7:30 pm with transfer back to hotel.
Excursion includes Transfer,Boat Tour, English speaking guide, Lunch and Entrance Fees (entrance fee for St. Nicholas is not included)
Myra
Ancient Greek theatre of Myra, with the rock-cut tombs of the ancient Lycian necropolis on the cliff in the background.Myra is an ancient town in Lycia, where the small town of Kale (Demre) is situated today in present day Antalya Province of Turkey. It was located on the river Myros (Demre Çay), in the fertile alluvial plain between Alaca Dağ, the Massikytos range and the Aegean Sea.
Although some scholars equate Myra with the town Mira in Arzawa, there is no proof for the connection. There is no substantiated written reference for Myra before it was listed as a member of the Lycian alliance (168 BC – AD 43); according to Strabo (14:665) it was one of the largest towns of the alliance.
The Greek citizens worshipped Artemis Eleutheria, who was the protective goddess of the town. Zeus, Athena and Tyche were venerated as well.
The ruins of the Lycian and Roman town are mostly covered by alluvial silts. The Acropolis on the Demre-plateau, the Roman theatre and the Roman baths (eski hamam) have been partly excavated. The semi-circular theater was destroyed in an earthquake in 141, but rebuilt afterwards.
There are two necropoli of Lycian rock-cut tombs in the form of temple-fronts carved into the vertical faces of cliffs at Myra: the river-necropolis and the ocean-necropolis. The ocean necropolis is just northwest of the theater. The best known tomb in the river-necropolis (located 1.5 km up the Demre Cayi from the theater) is the "Lion's tomb,"also called the "Painted Tomb." When the traveller Charles Fellows saw the tombs in 1840 he found them still colorfully painted red, yellow and blue.
Andriake was the harbour of Myra in classical times, but silted up later on. The main structure there surviving to the present day is a granary built during the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian (117–138 CE). Beside this granary is a large heap of Murex shells, evidence that Andriake had an ongoing operation for the production of purple dye.
In early Christian times, Myra was the metropolis of Lycia. The town is traditionally associated with Saint Paul, who changed ships in its harbor. Saint Nicholas of Myra was the bishop of Myra in the 4th century, is said to have been an ardent opponent of Arianism at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, although his name does not appear among the signatories of that council. Myra became the capital of the Byzantine Eparchy of Lycia under Theodosius II, who reigned from 408 to 450.
After a siege in 809, Myra fell to Abbasid troops under Caliph Harun al-Rashid. The town went into a decline afterwards. Early in the reign of Alexius I Comnenus (ruled between 1081 and 1118), Myra was again overtaken by Islamic invaders, this time the Seljuk Turks. In the confusion, sailors from Bari in Italy seized the relics of Saint Nicholas, over the objections of the monks caring for them, and spirited the remains away to Bari, where they arrived on May 9, 1087, and soon brought that city visitors making pilgrimage to Saint Nicholas.
St. Nicholas Church (DEMRE)
St. Nicholas Church, Demre is an ancient Byzantine Church located in modern day town of Demre Antalya Province, (Southwest Turkey). It's usage is dated between 5th - 12th centuries. It is most notable for being the burial place of St. Nicholas of Myra, who was the Eastern Orthodox bishop of the ancient city of Myra in the 4th century, and is an important religious figure for Eastern Orthodox Christians.
Archaeological excavations in the Church started in 1988 directed by Prof. S. Yıldız Ötüken of Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. The work has revealed some of the northern section of the monastery complex, and also the small chapels around the nave, one of which notably contains vibrant frescoes detailing the life and miracles of the saint, and a desecrated sarcophagus which is thought to be the original burial place from where his remains were stolen by raiders from Bari in 1087.
Kekova
Kekova, also named Caravola (Lycian: Dolichiste), is a small Turkish island near Kaş (ancient Antiphellos) district of Antalya province which faces the villages of Kaleköy (ancient Simena) and Üçağız (ancient Teimioussa). Kekova has an area of 4.5 km² and is uninhabited.
After the Italian occupation of Kastelorizo, Kekova — which at that time was temporarily inhabited during summer because of wood harvest — was disputed between Italy and Turkey. The 1932 Convention between Italy and Turkey assigned it to Turkey.
On its northern side there are the partly sunken ruins of Dolchiste/Dolikisthe, an ancient town which was destroyed by an earthquake during the 2nd century. Rebuilt and still flourishing during the Byzantine Empire period, it was finally abandoned because of Arab incursions. Tersane (meaning "dockyard", as its bay was the site of an ancient city Xera and dockyard, with the ruins of a Byzantine church) is at the northwest of the island.
The Kekova region was declared a specially protected area on 18 January 1990 by Turkish Ministry of Environment and Forest. All kinds of diving and swimming were prohibited and subject to special permits from governmental offices. In later years the prohibition has been lifted except for the part where the sunken city is.
The Kekova region is 260 km² and encompasses the island of Kekova, the villages of Kaleköy and Üçağız and the four ancient towns of Simena, Aperlae, Dolchiste and Teimioussa.
Kaleköy (locally just "Kale") (ancient Simena) is a Lycian site on the Turkish coast. It is a small village with the partly sunken ruins of Aperlae and a castle. Access to the village is possible only by sea.