Phaselis
| Φασηλίς (Greek) | |
Main road
|
|
 Shown within Turkey
|
|
| Location | Tekirova, Antalya Province, Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Lycia |
| Coordinates | 36°31′25″N 30°33′08″E / 36.52361°N 30.55222°ECoordinates: 36°31′25″N 30°33′08″E / 36.52361°N 30.55222°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Rhodian colonists |
| Founded | 700 BC |
| Periods | Archaic to High Medieval |
| Associated with | Theodectes |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Ownership | Public |
| Public access | Yes |
| Website | Phaselis Archaeological Site |
Phaselis (Greek: ) was an ancient Greek and Roman city on the coast of Lycia. Its ruins are located north of the modern town Tekirova in the Kemer district of Antalya Province in Turkey. It lies between the Bey Mountains and the forests of Olympos National Park, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) south of the tourist town of Kemer and on the 57th kilometre of the Antalya–Kumluca highway. Phaselis and other ancient towns around the shore can also be accessed from the sea by daily yacht tours.
The town was set up by the Rhodians in 700 BC. Because of its location on an isthmus separating two harbours, it became the most important harbour city of eastern Lycia and an important centre of commerce between Greece, Asia, Egypt, and Phoenicia, although it did not belong to the Lycian League. The city was captured by Persians after they conquered Asia Minor, and was later captured by Alexander the Great.
After the death of Alexander, the city remained in Egyptian hands from 209 BC to 197 BC, under the dynasty of Ptolemaios, and with the conclusion of the Apamea treaty, was handed over to the Kingdom of Rhodes, together with the other cities of Lycia. From 190 BC to 160 BC it remained under Rhodeian hegemony, but after 160 BC it was absorbed into the Lycian confederacy under Roman rule. Phaselis, like Olympos, was under constant threat from pirates in the 1st century BC, and the city was even taken over by the pirate Zekenites for a period until his defeat by the Romans. In 42 BC Brutus had the city linked to Rome. In the 3rd century AD, the harbor fell under the threat of pirates once again. So it began to lose importance, suffering further losses at the hands of Arab ships, until totally impoverished in the 11th century. When the Seljuqs began to concentrate on Alanya and Antalya as ports, Phaselis ceased to be a port of any note.
...
Wikipedia