Myra is one of the ancient coastal cities of the Guif of Antalya visited by Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus (Acts 27:5-6). It is where as prisoners they changed boats on their way to Rome in 60 or 61 AD. In Myra the centurion Julius found a ship from Alexandria headed to Italy by way of Cnidus. They had hard sailing throughout the whole trip; Luke’s account speaks of headwinds from Sidon to Myra, slow headway to Cnidus, wind continuing against them to Crete, and the fierce northeastern Boreas that raged for days on end and finally shipwrecked them in Malta.
For foreigners the most interesting ruin in Myra today is the Church of St. Nicholas built over the tomb of the saint who was martyred during the reign of Diocletian. The church is not much to look at. Its foundations go back to the fourth century when Nicholas was bishop of Myra. During the invasions of the Saracens in the eleventh century the saint’s bones may have been moved to Bari in southern Italy where his fame increased. In fact, he is known as Nicholas of Bari in many parts of the world. He is the patron saint of the Russian, Greek, and Sicilian people, of children, and of sailors. (Myra was the seat of the god of pagan sailors also.)
The legend about St. Nicholas in Myra concerns a poor man who had three marriageable daughters but no way to provide their necessary dowries. St. Nicholas clipped under their window one night and tossed three purses of gold into the house to save them from prostitution. These three purses have become the three gold balls identifying a pawnbroker’s shop. This custom of giving gifts in secret, first observed on the eve of his day, December 6, was moved to December 25 and his name corrupted to Santa Claus.
In addition to the ruins of the church there is a Roman theater in Myra and an unusual rock necropolis.
Rock Cut Tombs in Myra.
The original tomb of St. Nicholas at the Basilica in Myra.
Saint Nicholas of Myra Saves Three Innocents from Death (oil painting by Ilya Repin, 1888, State Russian Museum).
One of the amazing place I ever seen. I celebrated my birthday last yer on there with Santa Claus (5th December) When you pass by Demre; also you need to see Myra too.
The Christian church of St. Nicholas (Nikolay Chudotvortsa) is located in Demre.
In IV century the prior and the archbishop of Lycia Myra was prelate Nikolay.
Sacred Nicholas has been buried in a small tomb in a marble sarcophagus.
In VI a century on a tomb place have erected church. After it Arabs have destroyed, but ХI a century it…
These ruins are stunning and in amazingly good condition. When we visited, there was hardly anyone about and we were able to enjoy the rock tombs and amphitheatre in peace and quiet. There is still restoration work ongoing, but it is already well worth a visit. Awesome!
We managed to time our visit at lunchtime and missed the coach tours. Beneath the unsightly protection the church is very evocative. Don't forget to look down at the beautiful, fine mosaics. The courtyard was warm and still with the sound of birds singing and the interior dark and cool. The murals are particularly lovely. The whole scale of the…
Myra, we took a day trip from Camyuva which took in Myra, Church of St Nicholas ( the real santa) and Simena. The tour starts at Myra. Myra contains some of the best remains of Lycian Rock Tombs in the world. I donlt know if I agree but you can actually crawl inside the tombs touch them feel them and…
Excursion to Rock Tombs of Lucian tsars in Myra is combined with visiting an amphitheatre, a church of St. Nicholas in Demre and islands Kekova. Excursion passes by the bus and on the yacht.
The biggest impression Lycian tombs have left the tsars, cut down in steep rocks. Outwardly tombs looks as pediments of ancient Greek palaces.
Lycian tombs it…
If you get there early then you can have room to appreciate the great amphitheater and view the Lycian rock tombs, for 2000 years old, very well preserved. However this is major tour bus land and when they arrive the crowds really kick in.
The impressive statue outside is the first thing to hit you, then as you walk into the church itself the markings on the walls which some or discolored but you can still see them some of them faintly.
Then our guide took us through to look at the original floor well part of anyway, then we saw "St Nicholas" toom…
We saw Myra as part of a multi attraction excursion. It was a fascinating place for me and my wife. I knew nothing about what we were about to visit. The tour we were on was in Russian. My wife speaks English and Russian. Her sister and brother in law only Russian. So I didn't understand any of the narration…
The rock tombs, and the theater, are easily accessible, very close to the walkway, and well explained with signs in English. It's not hard to find this site, and it's not far off the main highway, nor from St. Nicholas Church. So if you are in the area I definitely recommend you visit. HOWEVER, be very careful about the parking…