PATARA ANCIENT CITY

PATARA ANCIENT CITY

Patara is an ancient city near the Kalkan town of Antalya's Kas district. It is a city of Lycia and capital of the Lycian Union. It is one of the six cities of the Lycian Union with three voting rights and is perhaps the most important. The Lycian Union meetings were held in the assembly of the city.

It is known that the city, which is known as Patara in Hittite, Ptata in Lycian language, is the final excavation that was made in the 8th century BC and it is known that İskender'in is surrounded by cities. Patara was also a very important city during the Roman period and capital of the Lycian-Pamphylian provinces. For this reason, one of the three grain deposits (Granarium) in the eastern Mediterranean is located in Patara. Continuing its development in the Byzantine period, the city was also considered important by Christians. Saint Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus, is also said to be Patarayan.44 meters wide and 1600 meters deep, Patara's harbor is beginning to flood with sand, and the difficulties of getting on the boat, causing Patara to lose its importance. The sand that the wind swallows over time fills the harbor and the city covers a great extent. It will be noted that some of the remains that can be seen today are under the sand. However, with the archaeological excavations made in recent years, the city has begun to purify itself from the sand covering it.

After 2 km from the untouched village, the Roman Victory Jewel is visible from the most spectacular of the remains of Patara on the roadside (Metius Modestus). Victory was made in the late 1st century AD. Among the remains that can be seen on the hill are Byzantine basilica and sanctuaries. The theater is on the slope of the hill. There is a huge cistern and a monumental tomb on the hill where the theater is leaning. The old harbor is now wetland.

The oldest remaining democratic parliament building is in this city. It was restored by the Turkish Grand National Assembly in 2010