» Day 4 - Kas / Fethiye (Lycia) (B,L,D)

We visit Patara, the main port of Ancient Lycia, where there are numerous and interesting ruins. But today’s main stop is at the archaeological site of Xanthos and Letoon, UNESCO heritage centers. Here, as elsewhere on the coast, an Englishman called Charles Fellows carried out excavations between 1838-1844 and the findings he took back home are now on display at the British Museum. Xanthos, capital of Ancient Lycia, was completely destroyed by the Persians in the 6th century BC. What remains – the theatre, the funerary Harpy monument, the agora – show the confluence between Lycian and Hellenistic traditions. The epigraphic inscriptions are crucial in terms of our understanding of history and of this unique language, of Indo-European origin, that is still only partially deciphered. Letoon, at a distance of 8 km from Xanthos, was a holy center with three temples dedicated to Leto, Apollo and Artemis and a nympheion dating to the time of Hadrian. We arrive in Fethiye, the ancient Telmessos, destroyed several times by earthquakes over several centuries. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Fethiye.