Information about Patara, Turkey



Patara is a town on the Mediterranean Coast of Turkey, located between Fethiye and Kalkan. Patara has the longest sandy beach (12 km) in Turkey and is also very picturesque with ruins of the ancient city partially covered by sand dunes.

The beach is also a major breeding ground of the Caretta Caretta (Loggerhead) Turtle and is closed after sunset from May to October to allow the turtles to lay their eggs. The area is part of a national park and also a haven for bird watchers. Other sights of interest close to Patara are the ancient sites of Xanthos, Letoon, Tlos, Saklikent and many more.

The ancient city of Patara, located at the mouth of the Xanthos river already existed in the 5th century B.C. and was an important harbor city of ancient Lycia and the birthplace of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) who was the Bishop of Myra (born c.260-280 AD) and a rich city due to trade. Patara had a renown oracle at the Temple of Apollo, which was nearly as important as the oracle on Delos.. The remains of this temple still have not been unearthed. Patara was captured by Alexander the Great and became an important naval base. Later during the Roman period it was the seat of the Roman governor and captial of both Lycia and Pamphylia. In the history of Christianity Patara is famous for being a place of St. Paul’s missionary work. The population of Patara reached about 20,000 at once point, but piracy and looting in the late Roman Era and attacks by the Arabs in the 7th century reduced the once great town to a village and with the silting of the river resulting in swamp area the town was all but abandoned and remains a small town to this day.

Much of Patara remains undiscovered, buried in the sand, but new excavations by the Akdeniz University have revealed many structures. Among them is the parliament building with rows of stone seats arranged in a semicircle and the remains of a structure that could possibly be one of the oldest lighthouses in the world. Patara's ancient fortress, Pydnai, is located at the far west end of the beach. You can see the Arch of Modestus, a monumental gate, the harbor bath, a road marker showing the distance between the Lycian cities, the Vespasian Bath, an ancient Basilica, the amphitheater, Marcia Temple tomb and Hadrian’s Granary among many other remains.