Patara Ancient City
My experience with ancient cities in Turkey has almost invariably been twofold. First, I realize again just how ignorant I am of the history of this country I live in. Second, I am filled with new excitement and wonder at the history of this country I live in! I mean, not everyone can say they have walked in the footsteps of Cleopatra, or Emperor Hadrian, or the Apostle Paul, or Suleyman the Magnificent. Yet in Turkey you don’t have to travel far to be able to say you’ve walked in the footsteps of all of these figures, and many, many more. I hope I never get over this amazement.
I had this same experience when we visited the ancient city of Patara. Though at the time I was going for the nonchalant, “I already knew that,” reaction to what I was learning, in reality, I had no idea of the significance of this spot. I don’t think anyone was fooled, because it wasn’t long before I couldn’t contain exclamations of surprise at what I was hearing and seeing. Here are the top three (in my opinion) most interesting things I learned about Patara:
1) Patara was the seat, or capitol, of the ancient confederation known as the Lycian League. The League had elected representatives, and is the first known democratic union in history. The self-government modeled in the Lycian League, along with that of the Achaen League, was studied and held forth by the founding fathers of the United States of America as an example of the type of democracy they were trying to establish.
2) The Apostle Paul stopped here on his way back to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey. It is recorded in the New Testament that he switched vessels here in between Rhodes and Phoenicia.
3) Patara was the birthplace of St. Nicholas, the bishop of nearby Myra and origin of the “Santa Claus” figure often celebrated during Christmas holidays. Of course, the “real-life” Jolly Old St. Nick had nothing to do with magical reindeer or elves or the North Pole. You can read more about his church in Myra that still stands today here.
This was the assembly hall of the Lycian League
Sadly we weren’t able to enter the theatre, as it was closed for restoration work.
Today, excavations and restoration efforts have been going on in Patara since the late 1980’s, and included among the visible remains are the theatre, the parliament building where the League held their meetings, and an ancient boat that stands reconstructed in front of the parliament. We joked around that this was the boat the Apostle Paul sailed on out of Patara’s port before posing for shameless tourist pics in front of it.
There was a lot of construction and landscaping work going on at the site. These friendly workers stopped for a pose!
At first I wanted to take a picture of the chickens wandering the site because I was amused, but then I caught sight of an absolute non-negotiable for the local workers—even on the hottest days a must-have. Do you see it?
Aside from the historical value of the Patara site, included in its borders is one of the most beautiful sand beaches in the whole country of Turkey. The day we visited, there were crowds of people who had clearly come only for the beach. Decked out in their swimsuits, sunglasses, and hats and carrying noodles and over-sized bags, they skipped the ancient city entirely and went straight for the sand. We, too, checked out the beach, and we were glad we did, but that is another post for later.
Have you ever visited Patara ancient city? What were your thoughts and reactions? If you haven’t, do you think you would like to? Let us know in the comments!
To our friends in the West, keep looking East!
Ginny Lou Henley
Ginny Lou is a co-founder of West2East. Originally from Alabama, Ginny Lou has called Turkey home for the past nine years. To read more about her, click here.