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.
Pretty nice I suppose. Not something to blow you away but a well preserved piece of history. Almost looks as good as when they first built it… it is real though not like the museum next to the theatre which is not and is a recontruct and out of place in this area
See the beautifully restored Parliament Building and the ancient theatre, streets.
The shop is nice too. Before you go learn about the Muze Kart (museum card) of Turkish Ministry of Tourism
Huge site, we spent over 2hrs here and didn't see everything. It is still being retored and excavated, a bit over zelously in my opinion – but it is very impressive and beautiful.
Costs 7.50 lira admission into the ruins and beach area – ie boom gated entrance half way between the town and the beach. Open the night before though when we arrived in time for sunset.
Went to the ruins to see the 2 theatres as they are recommended in my guidebook for the importance of the parliament theatre and the…
Every time I visit this place I think abut how difficult it would be to build these impressive structures in Roman times, some of the stones are huge!
It's not every day you drive to a beach & see such wonderment on the way.
Much of the city of Patara remains buried in sand, which has helped to preserve many of the ruins. Of particular interest are the Amphitheatre, Necropolis and the monumental gate or Arch of Triumph.
The Ampitheatreare is outstaning, so perfectly restored and easy to reach. The acoustics are so that we could even hear a Bumble Bee buzzing around the centre. The mosaics are just outstanding, the colours and preservation cannot be described. The beach and Cafe can be well recommended, a good day out!
two at the price of one! the little 4 lira fee to gain entrance to both sites is nothing. The ruins are truly fantastic and they say there's so much more that they keep discovering but don't have the founds to do all the works.
The smooth sandy beach is great, too bad that this stretch of coast is always…
As Patara is well off the beaten path, there's your chance to explore ruins undisturbed by other people. The area is vast and largely unregulated, so you can wander the hills, the walls, climb, crawl as much as your heart desires. =) It's great fun to walk to the ruins from the village of Patara, bypassing pastures and excavations in…
Worlds oldest lighthouse, Really intriguing ancient culture, Tombs and writing scattered across the land.