Aperlae

Aperlae (or Aperlæ) (Ancient Greek: Ἄπερλαι) was a city on the southern coast of ancient Lycia and former notable bishopric, now a Latin Catholic titular see. It did not play any significant role in history or politics, yet its lifespan of 1,300 years is worth note. Harsh terrain made it difficult to survive, but like other towns along the coast, it thrived on the production of Tyrian dye.

The town's position is fixed by the Stadiasmus 60 stadia west of Somena, and 64 stadia west of Andriace. Leake (Asia Minor, p. 188) supposes Somena to be the Simena of Pliny (v. 27). Aperlae, which is written in the text of Claudius Ptolemy Aperrae, and in Pliny Apyrae, is proved to be a genuine name by an inscription found by Cockerell, at the head of Hassar bay, with the ethnic name Ἀπερλειτων on it. But there are also coins of Gordian with the ethnic name Ἀπερραιτων. The confusion between the "l" and the "r" in the name of a small place is nothing remarkable.

Aperlae is situated near a bay and had harsh conditions all around. The sea in this region was unreliable in a storm and the bay offered near no protection from weather. It was directly between the mountains and the coast, the city's fortifications didn't encompass the arable terraced part of the mountains. There were no reliable sources of fresh water, but numerous cisterns located around the town indicated a heavy reliance on rain water. Aperlae was near a faultline leading to the seaside district of Aperlae sinking due to slow slumping over time. The most defining feature of the Aperlae landscape was the vast amount of Murex snail shells. There were two distinct parts of town where they were dumped covering altogether 1,600 square meters (at an unknown depth until the Turkish government allows archeologists to dig), they were discovered in the mortar and concrete of the buildings of the city, and they were found in large quantities dumped into the ocean.

Aperlae was founded sometime between the late 4th and early 3rd century BCE and sustained a long lifespan of about 1,300 years until the end of the 7th century AD.

When the Byzantine Empire went to pieces and the political powers began to deteriorate, security of the coast failed and Aperlae was abandoned due to the threat of pirate raids and Arab corsairs. Though with the evidence of some late repairs on a church suggest that there was possibly a small settlement of squattors or stragglers after it was left, Aperlae was never rebuilt and resettled.

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