Myra Rock Tombs

Interesting facts

In all, 104 rock tombs have been recorded at Myra, with 23 inscriptions between them, 13 in Lycian and 10 in Greek.

The city's Lycian name is thought to have been Muri, possibly derived from the myrrh tree.

The Painted Tomb, dated to about 360–340 BC, shows its owner in life-size relief surrounded by eleven figures, probably his family.

The Lion Tomb takes its name from the relief on its pediment, where a lion is locked in combat with a bull.

On Charles Fellows's 1840 visit, the artist George Scharf made colour drawings that preserve how vividly the reliefs were once painted.

Modern Demre stands on 4 to 9 metres of river silt that buries most of ancient Myra.

The rebuilt Roman theatre below the sea necropolis could seat about 11,000 spectators.

The Apostle Paul changed ships at Myra on his voyage to Rome, an episode recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.

In 1087 merchants from Bari carried off the bones of Saint Nicholas, which are still kept in the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in that Italian city.

Why it is worth it

The cliff above the ancient city of Myra is one of the most striking sights on the Lycian coast of Turkey: a honeycomb of tomb fronts cut straight into the rock face, stacked one above another as if a whole village had been carved into the mountain. The Lycians buried their dead in tombs that imitated their own timber houses, and at Myra the carvers reproduced the joists, beams, door panels and projecting roof ends in stone with great care, and they are counted among the finest translations of Lycian timber architecture into rock. Most date to the 4th century BC, and inscriptions and coins show the city existed at least from the 5th century BC.

There are several groups. The so-called sea necropolis rises just northwest of the Roman theatre, where the tombs crowd the cliff directly above the seating; the river necropolis lies about 1.5 kilometres up the Demre stream, and its finest monument is the Lion Tomb, also known as the Painted Tomb. Some tombs carry reliefs — one shows the dead man among his relatives — and many have inscriptions in the Lycian language. When the English traveller Charles Fellows saw them in 1840, some still showed their original colouring in red, yellow and blue.

Myra was one of the leading cities of the Lycian League, holding three votes in its assembly, and later the seat of the bishop Nicholas, whose cult would spread across Christendom as Saint Nicholas. Much of the Lycian and Roman town now lies under the silt brought down by the river, which is why the tombs and the theatre — rebuilt after an earthquake in 141 — are what remains to be seen. Local tradition holds that the Lycians placed their dead high on cliffs so that winged beings could carry them to the other world.

Getting there

The ruins are on the edge of Demre, a small town in Antalya province. Antalya International Airport (AYT) is about 100 km away in a straight line, farther by the coast road. The river necropolis lies about 1.5 km up the valley from the theatre.

Interesting facts

Why it is worth it

Getting there

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