East of Alanya we were the only Sailboat - in Andriake, there are dozens of Goulets!
Another impeccable day. Another miraculous sunrise. We made it last night to a bay opposite Andriake, Myra’s ancient port. Saint Paul, the Apostle, changed ship here on his way to Rome and Saint Nicholas, Myra’s famous bishop, embarked here for his frequent trips to Constantinople. The weather forecast predicts temperatures above 30 Celsius by midday. We better get our excursion going before it gets too hot. Departure time is 09.00 am. The Dragonfly’s tender brings us to Andriake’s new port for sailboats and goulets.
Inside Saint Nicholas' recently completely refurbished Church
There are probably not too many people who can say they visited Santa Claus' home. But today we did. Or better, we visited the church dedicated by Emperor Theodosius II (402 – 450) to him. There were no churches during the Saint's time. Christians met at the local bishop’s house for prayers, the tradition of Jesus’ story was by word of mouth, once a week the faithful shared a meal together to honor the last supper – a ceremony which became the Holy Communion. Saint Nicholas worked as priest in Myra and was the town’s bishop. Born into wealth, he gained a reputation for supporting the poor and the weak. His intervention to save three girls from being sold into prostitution made him later the protector of children.
Fresco of Saint Nicholas 200 Years after his Death - he may have
looked like this - or maybe not - who knows?
The church we visited was not Theodosius’ church. An earth quake destroyed it in the year 529 AD. With funds from Justinian, who built many churches in the Empire – not only the Hagia Sophia – the church was rebuilt in its current form. We know about Justinian’s church building spree from his historian Procopius, who mentioned the fact in his books “De Aedificiis” (“On Buildings”). Procopius also covered other building programs of Justinian – his fortifications, town walls and aqueducts. Justinian was a big builder during his long reign.
Recent Analysis confirmed the Authenticity of Saint Nicholas' Sarcophagus in his Church
Türkiye’s Directorate for Cultural Heritage and Museums did a good job in restoring the old church in 2022. It is now in impeccable shape. Albeit the price for an entry ticket increased to EUR 17.- A bit steep for just one church. There were many Russian visitors kneeling and praying at Saint Nicholas’ sarcophagus whose body is now in Bari in Italy. Seems that Saint Nicholas is more than just a pop item in the Orthodox Church. He is truly venerated. People were pushing money and little notes – probably with prayers – under the glass protecting his tomb. It was quite a touching scene.
Myra's Roman Theatre is 133 Meters wide and can accommodate 13'000 Guests
From Saint Nicholas’ church we moved to the Roman theatre in Myra which was built in the 2nd century AD to the right of the Lycian graves. It is an impressive building which can seat 13’000 people. Its predecessor, a Hellenistic theatre, was severely damaged in another earth quake in 141 AD. The Lycian graves are carved into the limestone above the town and date back to the 5th century BC. We will see many more of them later in our journey.
Lycian Graves - we will see many more further West
Next stop was Andriake, once Myra’s big harbor. It was silted by a side branch of the Myros river. Its former size is impressive though. Compared to other Roman harbors we have seen in the past, Andriake is in a different league. It has a long piers, a very large Agora (market place) and an own cistern. Emperor Hadrian built a large granary here in 139 AD to store wheat coming from Egypt.
The Sedimentation pushed the Coast Line near Myra by more than 1.5 km towards the Sea
Andriake was also a big trading center for saffron, the exquisite spice coveted by so many. Recent excavations also found workshops for the procession of Murex shells to make the expensive imperial purple. We know that imperial purple was produced not far away in Aperlai which we are going to visit tonight or tomorrow. Apparently, there was a third purple factory in Phaselis where we were yesterday. Never heard this before. Found the information in Andriake’s museum.
Aerial View of the Ancient Port of Andriake with Hadrian's Granarium and the Agora
Map of ancient Andriake with its big Port - well protected though easy to reach
In a nutshell, Andriake was a large port for hundreds of vessels. I guess it was a place where far-distance and near-distance trading met. No wonder then that Saint Paul changed vessel here. He must have been on a local ship from Caesarea and now switched to a vessel which went from Alexandria to Rome.
The Granarium before it was restored and converted into the Museum for Lycian History
By 12 am we were back on the Dragonfly and sailed along the Kekova island to one of the quieter bays for the rest of the day. It is too hot for further expeditions. Time to write a blog about the two Saints of Myra.
Simena with its 12th Century Crusader Castle was so busy we headed for a more quiet Bay
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