South-east of Fethiye (at a distance of 65 kilometres) on the top of a hill are the the ruins of Xanthos, an ancient city. From the hilltop where the ruins are located, there is an unusually beautiful view of the valley of the river Eshen.
About the city of Xanthos is mentioned in the ancient Greek myth telling about Bellerophontes and the flying horse Pegasus. Xanthos was the home of King Jobatos, as well as of Glaucus, grandson of Bellerophontes. In Homer's Iliad, Glaucus appears as a Lycian, who fought for the Trojans.
After archaeological excavations were carried out in the territory of the city, findings dating back to the Trojans were Xanthos was first mentioned in the chronicles of the conquest of Lycia. Xanthos was mentioned in the chronicles of the conquest of Lycia, when a Persian general attacked the Harpagus (540 BC). After Harpagus' army surrounded the city, the city's defenders realised they were in a desperate situation. They decided to set fire to the city, along with their homes, property, wives, children and slaves, while they continued to fight. Only 8 families survived because they were they were outside the city at the time. These families returned to rebuild rebuild the burned city.
In 333 BC, Alexander the Great took possession of the city. After the death of Alexander the city was ruled by Antigonus, and after him by Antiochus III. Under Antiochus III. Xanthos was the capital of the Lycian Union. Later, Xanthos, like the rest of Lycia, controlled Rhodes.
In 42 BC, civil war raged in Rome and the city was besieged. It was surrounded by Brutus' troops, and the city's history repeated itself again, the inhabitants of the city set fire to it. But the city was destined to rebuild again, and Xanthos became even better than it had been. Emperor Vespasian, during his reign, ordered the erection a magnificent city gate that bore his name. With the advent of the Byzantine period, Xanthos became a diocese. In the 7th century, the city came under increasing Arabs began to attack the city, so the inhabitants left the city.
In 1842, Charles Fellowes, a British traveller, searched the ruins for surviving sculptures and statues. surviving sculptures and statues, which were sent to the British Museum in London. Museum.
The monumental Arch of Vespasian adorns the entrance to the city, and next to the Arch Arch is the Hellenistic Gate. On this gate a record was found stating. that Antiochus III dedicated the city of Xanthos to the patron gods of Lycia. Artemis, Leto and Apollo. A little further on (to the right of the road) was the Monument of the Nereid Monument. It dates back to the 4th century BC. Today it is preserved in the British Museum.
The city acropolis, surrounded on three sides by fortified walls (5th century B.C.), is located on the site of the city. BC), is located on the banks of the Eschen River. The appearance of the fourth wall took place already in the Byzantine period. In the northern part of the acropolis there is a Roman theatre, which was built on the site of an ancient Greek theatre. was built on the site of an ancient Greek theatre. Not far from the theatre are Lycian tombs. The tomb of the Harpies is 8.87 metres high. Next to it is a tomb (4th century), on which there is a copy of a relief image of two fighting men, the original of this image is kept in the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul.
A little to the north of the Roman Theatre originates the Roman agora, on which the Xanthian Obelisk Xanthian obelisk, dating from 480-470 BC, is located. The obelisk has the longest inscription of any of the records that have survived to our time. of the records that have survived. The inscription, consisting of 250 lines, is in Lycian. The inscription in Lycian has never been fully deciphered, but from the record in Greek. in Greek, it's clear that the obelisk was built in honour of an ancient wrestler, who won many fights and made his family famous.
If you follow the path that goes east from the car park. you come to a hedged Byzantine basilica. To the north of the basilica, on a hill, there is a Byzantine monastery and a Roman acropolis with tombs and sarcophagi. tombs and sarcophagi.
