Sunrise over Phaselis' Acropolis - our Sailboat, the Dragonfly, anchored in front to the right
What a difference a day makes. Clouds are gone. We woke up to a spectacular sunrise. The South Harbor of Phaselis where we anchored was quiet. Only five other motor yachts had stayed for the night but nobody else was up yet. The chirping of the crickets and waves splashing against out boat was the only sound. Until we plunged into the water. Splash!
After Breakfast we made the Dinghy ready and headed out for our first Excursion
Phaselis is almost invisible from the sea. Where there was once a town there is now an pine forest. The South Harbor has become a beach for day tourists – as did the two arbors on the other side of the peninsula. Fortunately, Turkish archeologists excavated a few more structures. The main street linking North and South Harbor is now free of rubble but the Agora nearby and the Theatre are still in the same shape as we found them six years ago.
Phaselis' Main Street links its three Harbours and was flanked by Shops on both Sides
Dorians from Rhodes established the town in the 7th century BC. It is clear that Phaselis was from the beginning a trading town. There is no surrounding agriculture that could support it with food. The water had go be brought in with a long aqueduct - many of its impressive pillars still stand. There are long piers or wave breakers just below the sea surface. The Acropolis provided protection to all three ports. Unfortunately, this upper part of Phaselis is so grown over that it is impossible to walk around. We discovered no monument up there. But am convinced that lots of ruins wait below the soil.
The Dorian settlers must have chosen the town for its natural harbors. The North and Naval Harbor protect against winds and swells from the south and west, the South Harbor provides shelter against rough weather from the north and the east. On the rugged Lycian coast this is quite an asset. Between Myra (today’s Demre) and Antalya there are no other places that offer such protection with the exception of Olympus but its port is a river estuary and thus small.
The rough Lycian Coast has few Places that protect Ships from sudden Change of Weather
Given the advanced trading networks which we know about from the shipwrecks of Kyrene (from 500 BC) and Uluburun (from 1’500 BC), shelter in Phaselis must have been welcome. The winds on the eastern Lycian coast are usually predictable thermal winds but occasionally turn violent at shortest notice – specifically fall winds from the mountains which accelerate to amazing speeds.
Entrance from Maritime Port to Phaselis' Main Street
What amazes me about Phaselis is its permanent use for more than 1’200 years. The Dorian Greeks loved it, am pretty sure that the big Persian fleet who sailed to Greece during the Persian wars by 500 BC used it, Alexander the Great passed through here and established his winter quarter in 334/333 BC, the Cilician pirates used it for a few decades as a base for their attacks, the Romans invested heavily in it. Emperor Hadrian who admired Greek culture spent time here and the main portal now bears his name.
Phaselis' Theatre could sit 7'000 People (around 20% of population)
In other words, the location of Phaselis was always in demand. The wind pattern did not change. As long as trade was flowing to Rome and Constantinople, there was always a need for the Phaselis' ports. Not surprisingly, when long-distance commerce collapsed, times became difficult. With the Arab conquest of the Levant, trading slowed down to a trickle. For a while, Byzantium's investment into military infrastructure slowed down the decline but this financial support petered out in the 12th century. There is no report whether Phaselis was actually attacked. I guess it is safe to assume that the town’s people simply left when no commercial vessels appeared on the horizon any longer. Phaselis was abandoned.
Olympus' Port was not large but could accommodate smaller ships
An hour further west, hidden in a valley with steep limestone cliffs, lies another ancient town: Olympus. The local plaques state that it was founded in the 5th century BC but that actually contradicts the Lycian tombs which are put on display. If these sarcophagi are from Olympus, the town must be Lycian and 500 years older. The Lycians had a distinct own culture and language. Albeit many elements were similar or even identical to Hellenistic culture, they were a people by their own.
Ancient Piers flank the old Port of Olympus - the harbour is now filled with sediments
Olympia’s location is almost secluded. The entrance to the town is narrow but widens once the first cliffs are passed. The Olympus river also widenes and is flanked by ancient piers. Hadrian loved this town too and it was named Hadrianopolis after him - for a while. Its well protected nature made it an ideal place for the Cilician pirates to operate from. To the left and right of the estuary are medieval fortifications which look like the crusader castles we discovered in other places (Selinus H + 3). But these forts were built by either Venetians or Genovese. The sources are contradictory. With low signal strength in this part of Lycia, it is impossible for me to find the answer.
The old Roman Temple to the right, the Genovese or Venetian Castle at the back
The famous French historian Braudel once said that geography determines history. In the case of Phaselis and Olympus, he has a point. They thrived because of their location and ability to protect the highly valuable Greek and Roman ships from sudden bad weather.
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