KEKOVA (Teimiussa)
Kekova Island and the town of Kale nearby Antalya
make an idyllic daytrip for the traveler looking for a combination of sunshine,
swimming and fascinating historic ruins. Many operators run trips from
Kas but the journey is much shorter from Çayagzi,
the harbor of Demre. Along the stony coastline
the boatman may stop at a cave, or point out the occasional goat or the
smoldering pyramids of wood used by peasants to make charcoal, the product
may sit in plastic sacks at the water's edge, waiting to be taken away.
Along the edge of the island facing the mainland lie the fascinating
half-submerged remains of a Lycian sunken city,
and probably from Byzantine times later on. Signs
warn against skin- diving, so you can not swim here because many foreigners
in the past took a piece of ancient relics with them as a souvenir. The
boatman will allow the passengers on board off for a swim further to the
west, where the remains of a Byzantine chapel
stand on the beach and where further sunken remains can be explored at
ease by the swimmer with mask and snorkel.
A fascinating Lycian necropolis, with chest-type
tombs spread out along the coastline, lies at Teimiussa, near the present-day
Üçagiz on the mainland across from Kekova. This can also be reached by
track from the main road between Kas and Demre,
where it is signposted. The boat-tripper may be content with a sea-born
view and pass to Kale, the ancient Simena, which
sits nearby below the crenellated ramparts of an earlier hilltop Roman
castle.
The castle houses a small theater, cut into the rock, for just about
300 people, a sign that this was a minor settlement in Roman times. Down
in the harbor the turquoise sea laps at waterside restaurants offering
good Turkish food including locally caught fish.
A lone Lycian sarcophagus standing in a few centimeters
of water at the western side lures visitors to pose beside it for photographs.
Today Kekova is a very popular anchorage for sailors
who enjoy the history together with the nature.
SIMENA (Kale)
From inscriptions that have been found, we know that the history
of the ancient city of Simena goes back to the 4th century B.C. If we go
ashore via the jetty next to the sarcophagus on the seashore and climb
the hill behind the houses, we reach the castle of Simena. This castle
was used during the Middle Ages by the Byzantines.
In the medieval walls of the inner keep are a few blocks of all that remains
of ancient temple. Inside the castle is a small natural theater carved
into the rock. This is the smallest of theaters among the cities of Lycia.
West of the theater there are rock tombs here and there. Above the rock
tombs is a Roman wall built of dressed stone and located on the wall are
late-period embrasures thus giving one a glimpse of three eras simultaneously.
On the shore are the ruins of public baths whose inscription is still legible
and reads "A gift to the emperor Titus made by the people and council of
Aperlai as well as by the other cities of
the confederation."
Looking from the castle towards Üçagiz it becomes clear how beautiful
and safe a natural harbor this really is. Simena (or Kaleköy, its present-day
name) is only a temporary shelter however. The actual shelter for yachts
is .Teimiussa (Üçagiz), a landlocked bay surrounded by
green hills. There is a road overland that leads here. The ruins of the
ancient city of .Teimiussa are located here. Very little
is known about the history of the city however. One inscription indicates
that its history goes back to the 4th century B.C. One sees mostly the
ruins of a necropolis here and no city walls or other major structures
have been encountered. The oldest sarcophagus is from the 4th century B.C.
and is shaped like a house. Over it is the nude portrait of a young man.
The inscription tells us that it belongs to "Kluwanimiye". The work is
Roman and a later addition to the sarcophagus.
One may reach .Kekova overland from Demre
Çayagzi as well as in boats that you can rent
at Kas. After leaving .Kekova you
pass Kisneli Island and Asirli Island and come to Gökkaya harbor. Gökkaya
is a beautiful bay and a fine harbor. On the way is a big sea cave that
was used at one time by pirates. From here one comes to Çayagzi (Demre),
also called Kokar bay, alongside of which are the ruins of Andreake. From
here, one may take a car to Myra, the city
of St. Nicholas, which is quite close. This
is also a place from which one may visit other Lycian
cities as Isinda at Belenli, Apollonia at Kilincli, Istlada at Kapakli,
Kyaenai at Yavu, and Trysa and Sura at Gölbasi. The area is also filled
with thousands of Lycian sarcophagi lying everywhere.
