The ancient city of Mira (modern name Demre) is known to us as a place of of pilgrimage and holy faith. The city where Nicholas the Wonderworker preached. The exact date of the settlement is unknown, but according to some Lycian inscriptions, it existed as early as the fifth century BC. Mira was one of the largest cities of Lycia and from the reign of Theodosius II was its capital. In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, when it was part of the Lycian League, the city was given the right to mint coins. In the first century AD, Mira was visited by Emperor Germanicus and his wife Agripina. and his wife Agripina, and in honour of their visit, statues of the emperor and empress were erected in the city's bay. in honour of their visit. Mira's decline came in the seventh century, when the Arabs destroyed it. the city was destroyed by the Arabs and submerged by the mud of the river Miros.
In the early years of Christianity, St Paul, on his way to Rome, met the first Christians here. with the first Christians. In the second century, Myra had already become the centre of the diocese. In the year 300. the bishop of Myra was Nicholas of Patara, known in the Christian world as St Nicholas. St Nicholas. He was trained in Xanthus and preached in Myra until his death in 342. until his death in 342. St Nicholas was buried in an ancient Lycian sarcophagus in the in a local church. Soon after his death, among the faithful who came to worship his ashes. to venerate his ashes, several miraculous healings took place. The sick, who came to honour the saint were restored to health. Unfortunately, the church in which in which Nicholas was buried was looted during the Arab raids of 1034. during the Arab raids of 1034. Later, the Byzantine ruler Constantine IX Monomachus and his wife Zoe. ordered a fortress wall to be built around the temple and converted the church into a a monastery. And in 1087 Italian merchants stole the relics of the saint and transported them to Bari. Bari, where Nicholas the Wonderworker was declared the patron saint of the city. According to legend has it that Italian monks who opened the sarcophagus containing the remains of St Nicholas, smelled the spicy scent of myrrh. These relics are still in the cathedral of the city of Bari. Turkey has repeatedly demanded that the remains be returned to their historical homeland. homeland, but the Vatican has taken a very negative view of these demands and there is little hope for the Turkish faithful to fulfil their legitimate demands. At the end of the twentieth century, another grave was found in the Church of St Nicholas in Miry. This discovery caused a great deal of suspicion and speculation about where Nicholas the Wonderworker was buried. St Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra.
The Church of St Nicholas is rightly regarded as the third most important religious Byzantine architecture in the East. This historical monument survives today as a cruciform basilica consisting of one large rooms. It didn't take until 520 for the basilica to take on its present-day appearance did not take on the appearance of a temple until 520. At that time, a new church was erected on the site of the old Christian temple. a new church in honour of St Nicholas. In the church, the icons, frescoes. preserved icons, frescoes, mosaic floors and a sarcophagus where it's believed the relics of St Nicholas the incorruptible relics of St Nicholas the Wonderworker. The floor of the temple is paved with mosaics with geometric patterns of different types of stone and small pieces of smalt. Patterns of small parts alternating with large monolithic slabs form a beautiful decorative pattern. a beautiful decorative pattern. This original floor pattern implies that all the parts of the mosaic were made according to a preliminary sketch. There's no definitive information when this mosaic floor pattern was laid out is still unknown. According to some experts claim it existed here even before the ministry in this the church of St Nicholas the Wonderworker, and later, during the construction of the new building, the floor was was incorporated into it.
The ruins of the city of Mira are located five kilometres from the coastal strip, between the modern city of Demre and the sea. Fortunately, it is still possible to view the city's city walls that protected the acropolis, dating back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The necropolis of the city is located on top of the cliffs and is striking for the sheer number of of Lycian rock tombs. Most of the crypts have beautiful facades with inscriptions and superb reliefs. Each tomb is very richly is very richly and intricately decorated. If you look at the bas-reliefs of the tombs. the bas-reliefs of the tombs, you can tell what the deceased was doing when he was alive. during his lifetime. Above many tombs rich canopies have been preserved, and the entrances are often look very much like small Greek temples or houses with a double-pitched roof, supported by pylons. One such tomb has the shape and facade of a temple, which contains two columns of the Ionian order with capitals and floral ornaments, as well as with images of lion heads. The architrave of the frieze has relief image of a lion attacking a bull. This diversity and location of the tombs can be explained by the ancient Lycian custom of burying the dead as high as possible. as high up as possible, which was to help the deceased get to heaven more quickly.
Very close to the rock tombs is an ancient Greco-Roman theatre, the original architectural ensemble and the beauty of its sculptural bas-reliefs, speak of the fine artistic taste of the local craftsmen of the time. The building was built in the second century AD. Its construction was carried out by Lysinus Lanthus of Oinoanda, who was given 10,000 denarii for this purpose. The theatre is in relatively good condition. The excellent acoustics of its amphitheatre still thrills audiences to this day. Everything that's said in the orchestral, in front of the first row of seats, is perfectly audible in the back rows. rows of seats. But unfortunately, this phenomenon has the unfortunate effect that the actor himself, on stage, he hears his phrases echoing repeatedly and it's quite a big problem. and it interferes with his work because the words of the text become blurred and they sort of overlap. on top of each other.
Interesting and the origin of the name of the city. According to one version, it came from the word "myrrh", meaning resin, which is used to make incense. According to the second version, the name of the city "Maura" is of Etruscan origin and means "place of the Mother Goddess". Mother Goddess", only due to phonetic changes it has become Mira.
