One of the attractions of Fethiye is the City Museum, all exhibits of which have been collected from the city (the old name of the city is Telmessos, meaning "city of light") and its surrounding areas such as Tlos and Leonton. All these cities were in ancient times part of the state of Lycia, located in the south of Asia Minor. These days it is the territory of Antalya province in Turkey.
Judging from archaeological findings, Tlos, the oldest city of Lycia, was founded around 2000 BC. The city is 45 kilometres from Fethiye and was one of the six main cities of Lycia. It was once considered "the most brilliant metropolis of the Lycian Union" and the sports centre of the Federation. Up until the 19th century, the city was inhabited by Turks. The influence of many cultures led to a rather interesting variety of its structures: beautiful tombs, relief tombs, the castle of "Bloodthirsty Ali", which was built on the foundations of a Lycian fortress, Roman gymnasiums, city baths, and an amphitheatre. Fragments of these works of art are displayed in the Fethiye City Museum.
Ancient Letoon, located south of Fethiye, one of the important cities of Lycia, existed in the 8th century BC. The city was built in honour of Apollo, Artemis and their mother, the goddess Leto. The ruins of three temples, original mosaics and a majestic amphitheatre located in this settlement, amaze even sophisticated travellers with their beauty.
Scholars claim that Fethiye was founded in the 5th century BC. The city was independent for a very long time, but in 362 BC Telmessos, as a result of a Lycian revolt against the Persians, came under Corian rule, which lasted until the conquest of the city by Alexander the Great. In 43 AD the Roman Senate proclaimed Lycia a Roman province and the ancient city came under Roman rule. In 1390 Telmessos became part of the Ottoman Empire. It was the rich history and the influence of different cultures that gave the city a rather rich architecture, and the museum got a priceless collection of exhibits.
The idea of creating the City Museum appeared in the 60s of the last century, but the museum building itself was built only in 1987. The museum's exhibits are priceless works of art and craft examples from the times of the early Lycians, Greeks, Persians, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans. History buffs will see marble busts, sarcophagi, tomb bas-reliefs, which were discovered during excavations at Letoona, Xanthof and nearby Lycian settlements. The exposition also includes coins from different epochs, ancient amphorae, fragments of ancient columns and capitals, majestic busts and monumental sculptures.
Among the most striking objects of the museum is the Stone Stela, whose inscriptions are executed in three languages (Greek, Aramaic and Lycian). The inscriptions of the Lithuanian stele, dating back to 358 B.C., have made a great contribution to the decipherment of Lycian texts. Another exhibit worthy of increased attention is a very beautiful sculpture "Young Girl with a Dove". Historians believe that this work of art is connected with the cult of Artemis and in ancient times a temple in honour of the goddess was built in the city. Special attention should be paid to the Izraza monument, which dates back to the Lycian era.
The museum's exposition is divided into two sections: archaeological and ethnographic. Of all the cultural heritage of the Lycians, the architectural monuments are particularly well preserved: tombstones, most of which are carved in natural rocks; they are often examples of Greek, specifically Ionian style, sometimes imitations of the wooden structures characteristic of Lycia. All the sculptures are imbued with the spirit of true Greek art. The bulk of the archeological section of the museum is ceramics (ancient sculptures, dishes, ancient vases). The ethnographic section is represented by handicrafts of those times: clothes, original embroidery, hand-woven fabrics, national costumes, jewellery characteristic only of this region, as well as an ancient but still working weaving loom. The household items in the museum's collection tell us eloquently that the Lycians were engaged in agriculture, made wine, grew saffron, cedars, firs and plane trees. The weapons of the Lycian warriors were daggers and curved sabres. The main decoration of this section is a wooden door of the 19th century with beautiful carved arabesques. The museum's most valuable exhibits reflect the life of the city's inhabitants from 3000 BC to the end of the Byzantine era.
