MYRA

The ancient Lycian city of Myra and it's once attached Port of Andriake, date from the 5th Century BC and grew rich on coastal trade, supplying incense (derived from the liquid amber trees) to Egypt and Constantinople.  The oldest part of Myra is the defensive wall on the acropolis, but it is more well known for the Lycian Rock Tombs and the Greco-Roman Theater.

The Lycian Rock Tombs built mostly in the 4th Century BC and with a temple facade and reliefs, would have been the tombs of the royalty and wealthy.

 

Despite the numerous reliefs of "masks", this theater was used more for games and animal fights than the arts.

 

It was hard to capture the enormity of the theater and how very steep it was.

Entrances and stage areas

 

Perspective from the ground

Some of the high officials attending the fights!

 

Reliefs of the masks

Lahmacun (lah mah jun), that's what's for lunch; often called a Turkish Pizza, it originated in Syria and is a very thin rolled dough, topped with finely minced lamb or lamb/beef mix patted into the dough, cooked in a fire oven, then wrapped around your choice of vegetables - lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, pickle, parsley.

Then it is off into the sunset to Dalyan, our next destination.  Not going to get there in the daylight as we had hoped.