The ruins of Patara consist of the large Hadrian granary, the city’s triumphal arch, a theater with a long inscription, a sixth or seventh century Christian basilica, Lycian and Roman tombs, the baths, and a temple to Apollo. One of the chief centers of the worship of Apollo was here as was also the famous oracle of Apollo.
Patara was the flourishing port for the city of Xanthus (Kimk) some ten kilometers up the Xanthus (Koca Cay) River. Xanthus was the ancient capital of the province of Lycia. While Xanthus was more heavily populated, Patara perhaps covered more acreage. Homer speaks of the area as the home of one of the heroes of the Trojan War. The port area has been erased by the shifting sands and the edge of the city is no longer immediately on the sea. In Paul’s time it appears it was a good all-weather harbor.
As Paul and Luke returned from Miletus to Jerusalem at the end of the third journey they stopped in Patara. Here they probably changed from a small coastwise ship to a larger one that could cope with the open Mediterranean (Acts 21:1-2).
The excavators at Patara have done an excellent job uncovering the Amphitheatre at Patara (one of the largest in Anatolia); just a few years ago it was filled with sand, vegetation and rubble. The view from the top, facing the city center, is fantastic.
If you enjoy the freedom of crawling around ancient ruins with no guidance it is for you . The acoustics of the amphitheatre are excellent ,so with nobody else there it gives you the chance of putting on a really good performance .
I visited the Patara ruins and beach, along with the Saklikent Gorge and Xanthos ruin site, on a jeep safari day trip with Xanthos Tours from Kas. Patara, our last stop, was formerly the port of Xanthos, and is now a vast ruin site and enormously long beach. Wow, what a beautiful place! Since there was a howling wind on…
This theatre [not an amphitheatre which would be in the round] can be found at the end of the ruins near the sea. The first time I saw the theatre it was half covered by drifting sand but now it has been restored to something approaching it's original glory. The state of preservation is good, and from the highest seats…
My second visit to Patara did not disappoint. An easy site to get to grips with and gain a sense of the port it once was. Don't miss the granaries on the other bank of the silted up harbour. We visited in April, had the place to ourselves except for hundreds of frogs, butterflies and the odd Hoopoe! Unlike some…
The ruins cover a big area and are close to the beach. Many ruins have been unearthed and are catalogued but not yet put back. The amphitheatre was being restored during our visit in October, 2011. We were told of the ancient lighthouse after we had left. It wasn't easily seen but apparently worth seeing.
We toured ruins in the morning or evening when it was cool and sat on a great beach during the heat of the day.
Walk uniterrupted through the riuns and get a feel of what it must have been like during its hay day. You are able to go into any part of the ruins but make sure you take some water as it can be quite hot
It's great to be able to go to the beach and pass these ruins, they are so close to the road and impressive to watch.
Patara is an amazingly intact ancient city next to a long sandy beach near Fethiye Turkey.
The amphitheatre and wealthy citizens tomb on the hill behind are magnificent. Even if you are not a history buff, spend some time in one of the 30 rows of theatre seats and hike to the top of hill to the tomb for view…
just being there with 'no one else around' and imagining audiences coming through the tunnel and going down the steps to sit and wait for a performance