Limyra Ancient City
Limyra Ancient City, located on the borders of Finike District of Antalya Province, Turunçova and Sahilkent Towns, covers the southern foothills of Toçak Mountain, the acropolis where the early period buildings are generally located, and the area within the Roman and Byzantine Age walls just south of it, on the plain now separated by the highway. The name of Limyra is mentioned as "Zemuri" in Lycian inscriptions. This is evidence that the city has been inhabited since at least the 5th century BC. The most active period of the city was in the first half of the 4th century BC, during the time of the Lycian King Perikle, during which time Limyra was the capital of Lycia. From historical records about the region; It is understood that Persian domination existed during the years when Perikle was trying to form the Lycian Union and expand its area of sovereignty, but this domination remained only nominal and Limyra, like other cities, remained within a great freedom. Limyra, which experienced its bright era after the Periclean Period in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, was rebuilt although it was damaged by earthquakes from time to time. The city, which was a bishopric center during Byzantine rule, was abandoned after Arab raids in the 8th and 9th centuries. The Ancient City of Limyra has been excavated by Austrian archaeologists since 1970. Finds from different periods have both shed light on the history of the region and brought very important finds to the Antalya Museum. The acropolis, located in the northernmost part of the ancient city, consists of an inner castle and a lower castle in the north. In the lower castle, there are walls, cisterns, Byzantine Church and Perikle Heroon. The mausoleum of King Pericles, dating back to the 4th century BC, is of particular importance as its architecture resembles the Nereid Monument in Xanthos and important parts of it are exhibited in the Antalya Museum. Right next to the Turunçova-Kumluca highway, where the acropolis reaches the plain, there is a theater building, which originally belonged to the Hellenistic period and underwent a major repair in 141 AD. South of the highway; It is divided into two separate islands, east and west, by the Limyros River. The area within the Early Byzantine Period walls in the west of Limyros contains older ruins than those in the east. A structure called "Ptolemaion" was unearthed within the southern wall of the city wall. This monument, built in the Hellenistic Period, and its plastic works exhibited in the Antalya Museum are important finds unearthed in Limyra excavations in recent years. Another important structure in this area is the monumental tomb of Gaius Caesar, the adopted son of Emperor Augustus, built in 4 AD. This monument was built because Gaius Caesar died in Limyra while returning from Jerusalem to Rome. His body or the urn containing his ashes was taken to Rome and a monumental tomb without his body was built in his memory. In addition to its monumental architecture, it is famous for the marble reliefs surrounding it, of which the high relief exhibited in the Antalya Museum is perfect for staging the realism of the Augustan Period.
