TOUR 4: KEMER YACHT TOUR

Program:

  • Pick up at 8 am from the hotel
  • Departure from Kemer port
  • Swimming breaks during the trip (Cennet koyu, Kiriş, Phaselis)
  • Visiting OLYMPOS Archeological Site
  • Lunch on the boat
  • Arriving at the hotel around 7 pm

Tour Fee Including:

  • Pick up from your Hotel and back transfer to hotel
  • Transportation
  • Professional and experienced licensed guide during the tour
  • Entry fees to the museums and sites
  • Parking fees, Tax included
  • Lunch

Excluding: Drinks

OLYMPOS Archeological Site (Virtual Tour)

Olympos was the second most important harboring city following Phaselis, on the southern coastline of Antalya. The city owns its name from the 2375 m high Mt Tahtalı, 16 km north of the city, one of the western extensions of the Taurus Mountains. Olympos, with its beach and forests is a popular place for daily visits and holidays in Antalya, located within the borders of the Bey Mountains-Olympos natural park. The exact foundation date of the city is unknown, but Olympos is recorded on Lycian coins struck in 167-168 B.C. and was one of the 6 cities having 3 votes in the Lycian League.

The ruins of Olympos today are mainly found by the estuary and on both sides of the fast flowing river running from east to west into the sea. The river which separated the city into two during the antique period was built into a canal and both sides were used as ports and interconnected by a bridge. Today one pier of the bridge remains standing. On the southern coast, the polygonal masonry wall of the Hellenistic period, a part which was renovated during the Roman and Byzantine period can be seen. Near to the estuary on the small and steep acropolis are the remains of buildings from later periods. The small theatre with Hellenistic foundations which was rebuilt during the Roman period, is by the southern part of the river and except for the entrance which is well-preserved, it is a ruin. The other important structure of the city is the temple gate which is 150 m west of the estuary. The architectural parts of a small Ionic temple and the plinth in front of the gate indicate it was built for the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurellius (172-173 A.D.). The most interesting ruin is the "Captain Eudomus sarcophagus" which was found in excavations by the Antalya Museum. The sarcophagus in the cave right next to the rocks of the estuary has emotional and poetic inscriptions about the captain and the shape of the ship carved on the long edge can be seen. 300 m to the east of Olympos, is the popular Çıralı area with its magnificent beach, home to egg laying Caretta Caretta turtles and sand dunes where various plantation thrives. The ridge called Çakaltepe, situated on the few kilometers southwest of the city, blows out flames continuously. This natural phenomenon, which is particularly impressive at night, is the burning methane gas coming up to the surface as it has done for centuries. This natural phenomenon has been compared to the monster called Chimera which lived in Lycia and was believed to breathe fire. That is what made Olympos the home to the legend of Bellerophon. In this area, the cult centre of the God of blacksmiths, Hephaestus, and the religious center during the Roman and Byzantine periods, a religious road with partly visible original blocks leading to these flames and some foundations around them can be seen. The Byzantine church still with some remaining paintwork is the most monumental ruin in the area.