Lycian Tombs, Turkey
visited September 2009
Ancient Lycia was a region in ancient Anatolia which is now in Southern Turkey. It became part of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BCE, and was later part of the Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great.
The tombs left behind are quite spendid. The earliest are the tower tombs, with sarcophagi on top of a rock tower. The one below was in the middle of a town (Kas, ancient Antiphellos), and remarkably well preserved - no grafitti at all!
There are also rock cut Lycian tombs, which are a little later in date, and bring to mind the Nabatean rock cut tombs of Jordan - they really are like a mini Petra. The ones I saw, at Dalyan, were only seen from a boat due to time restraints, and a lot are hard to access. But if you have time, then I'm told there are some splendid rock cut tombs to be explored throughout the area.
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| An early pillar tomb, Kas |
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| Back of the same pillar tomb |
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| A rock cut tomb |
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| Lycian tombs cut into the rock at Dalyan |
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| Lycian tombs cut into the rock at Dalyan |
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