Kalkan lies at the heart of ancient Lycia. Within half an hour of the town are three of the most important ancient sites in the region: Patara, Xanthos and Letoon.
Patara: the harbour of Lycia
Patara was one of the largest harbour cities of Lycia. It is home to the assembly hall (bouleuterion) of the Lycian League, considered one of the world's first democratic federations, and the building has been restored. Famous in antiquity for its oracle of Apollo, Patara is also the birthplace of Saint Nicholas, better known as Santa Claus.
The lighthouse and the road monument
Patara has the remains of a lighthouse built under the Roman emperor Nero, one of the oldest known lighthouses in the world. A monument found in the city, the Stadiasmus Patarensis, lists the Roman roads of Lycia and the distances between them. Today you can walk through the ruins to reach Patara beach.
Xanthos: the Lycian capital
In the valley of the Eşen river, Xanthos was the largest and most important city of Lycia. The ancient historian Herodotus tells how, when a Persian army besieged the city, the Xanthians chose to burn their city and fight rather than surrender. The original reliefs of the Harpy Tomb and the Nereid Monument were taken to England in the 19th century and are now in the British Museum. On site you can see copies, as well as the Inscribed Pillar, which carries the longest known text in the Lycian language.
Letoon: the sanctuary
Next to Xanthos, Letoon was the religious centre of Lycia. Three temples dedicated to Leto, Apollo and Artemis stand side by side. A trilingual inscription found here, written in Lycian, Greek and Aramaic, played a major role in deciphering the Lycian language. Part of the temples now stands in groundwater.
UNESCO World Heritage
Xanthos and Letoon were inscribed together on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988, and Patara is on UNESCO's tentative list. To avoid the midday heat, visit early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
