Port Fethiye is located at the
Lycian and
Carian border and was called Telmessos in ancient times. Port Fethiye was a very prominent centre of prophecy, pledged to Apollon.
That the city life in Port Fethiye was rich and highly cultured during the Hellenistic and
Roman periods is evident from the existing monuments. Today the majority of ancient ruins in Port Fethiye (Telmessos) are
rock tombs,
Lycian sarcophagi, the fortress and the
Roman theatre.
The peninsula lying between
Fethiye and
Antalya was known as
Lycia in ancient times. The
tomb of
Amyntas is considered as the insignia of
Fethiye and strikes the eye with its grandeur on the slope as you enter the
Fethiye bay. This
tomb, whose facade was built as an Ionic temple belonged to
Amyntas, believed to be a king or a governor of Telmessos during the Hellenistic period.
Within Port Fethiye there are quite a number of
Lycian sarcophagi. Especially the sarcophagus near the government house is worthy of notice, with its relieves depicting warriors.
The fortress of Port Fethiye stands where the city was first founded and the existing walls are from the 11th century. At the same place, walls from the
Roman period can be seen. The fortress of
Fethiye was repaired by the
Rhodesian knights during the 15th century and was used as a naval base.
The Telmessos
ancient theatre and the monument of the
Turkish pilot
Fethi bey are located opposite the
commercial pier at Port Fethiye.
The site was excavated by the
Fethiye Archaeology Museum in 1993 and a restoration project has been made to renovate the theatre’s cavea and stage. The
Fethiye Archaeology Museum exhibits numerous archaeological findings from
Lycian, Hellenistic,
Roman and
Ottoman periods as well as many ethnological works of the region.
All through the history,
Lycia was invaded by the Persians,
Alexander The Great, Romans and
Byzantines but was never full excavated. Port Fethiye is an appropriate center for excursions into
Lycia.
Other interesting sites in
Turkey are:
Antalya,
Kemer,
Phaselis,
Olympos,
Demre,
Kekova,
Simena,
Aperlai,
Kas,
Kalkan,
Patara,
Xanthos,
Letoon,
Tlos,
Pinara,
Oludeniz, Fethiye,
Gocek,
Knidos,
Caunos,
Ekincik,
Gokova,
Marmaris and
Bodrum.
There is a high speed
ferry connection from
Fethiye to Rhodes and
Rhodes to Fethiye.
Blue cruises are operated from
Fethiye to Olympos,
Fethiye to 12 Islands and
Fethiye to Marmaris.
Blue cruises towards
Fethiye are
Marmaris to Fethiye and
Olympos to Fethiye.
