The ancient site of Arykanda

The visit to Arykanda has to be earned, for, as often in the region, the town is built on a mountainside on five broad terraces that must be reached by stony, sloping paths. But once you are settled on the steps of the theatre, the view that stretches over the valley and the surrounding mountains rewards you for all your efforts.

Practical information:

The site of Arykanda lies 30 km from Finike, inland on the road to Elmalı.

After the village of Arif you will see on your right a small market with a restaurant that has grown up around a spring. Lorry drivers stop there, and it is very pleasant to sit down to refresh yourself or have something to eat before or after visiting the excavations. The small road leading to the site starts from here; be vigilant, as a parked lorry can hide the sign!
So take the small road on the right – well signposted – which climbs between the pomegranate plantations to the small car park and the ticket office.

Address: Elmalı Finike Yolu at Arif. GPS coordinates of the car park: N36.512718, E30.058755

Admission to the site is charged. Open every day. From 1 April to 30 September, 8.00 am to 7.00 pm. From 1 October to 31 March, 8.00 am to 6.00 pm.

For the visit to the ancient town we recommend that you wear trainers and take a sufficient quantity of water with you, especially in strong heat. The visit does not present any great difficulties, but the site is laid out on 5 terraces linked by steep slopes. The heat can be hard to bear.

History of Arykanda:

The town, one of the oldest in Lycia, came into being in the 2nd millennium BC. In the 2nd century BC it was part of the Lycian League, but the reputation of its inhabitants for licentious living meant that it never played an important role there.

It follows the destiny of the region, belonging in turn to the Persians, to Alexander the Great, to the Seleucids, then to Rhodes. The town quickly adopted the Greek way of life and Greek culture, but it was under Roman rule, enriched by the timber trade, that Arykanda was covered with the prestigious monuments that can be seen today. It was rebuilt after the earthquakes of 141 and 240 and, during the Byzantine Empire, under the name Oricanda, became the seat of a bishopric.

In the 7th century, a new earthquake marked the decline of the city, which was finally abandoned in the 11th century.

The town was rediscovered in the 19th century by an Englishman, Charles Fellows, and the excavations are still continuing under the direction of Ankara University.

Worth a visit

Take water and suitable shoes with you, for the town was built on five terraces, set against the rock face and linked by fairly steep slopes. The quiet of the site, still little visited, and the view over the plain and the mountains will leave you an unforgettable memory.

As you climb towards the baths, visible from afar, you will first see the ruins of a Christian basilica with fine floor mosaics, then a small forum with columns at the four corners. The baths, of the Roman period, are spectacular, the walls rising over two storeys. Inside, the hypocaust of the heated rooms is well preserved.

Above, the street of the tombs overlooks the baths, so that all their dimensions can be seen. These grand tombs most often imitate the façade of a small temple.

Retrace your steps and, on the right, climb up to the lower agora, which has on its east side the ruins of a few shops.

The agora was linked to the odeon by a wooden portico that has now disappeared. The odeon of the 2nd century AD could serve as a small theatre for poetic recitations, but above all as a meeting place (bouleuterion) for the citizens of the town. Cut into the hill, the seats and the walls were covered with marble. Its façade, with three openings, looks over the valley.

Above that, the theatre of the 1st century is in an excellent state of preservation and has twenty rows of seats. Although of the Roman period, its construction is Greek, making use of the slope of the mountain to cut the seats into it. A very romantic sight: a pine has loosened one step and will give you a little shade.

Leave the theatre and climb through the scree to the stadium. Because of the lie of the land, this has seats only on the mountain side.

The visit can continue towards the upper town, but the climb remains fairly difficult and its ruins are not at present of great interest.