At a distance of 55 km from Fethiye you are going to need a car or jeep however this is another one not to miss.
Xanthos was the capital of Lycia !! Set in a beautiful location above the Esencay river. Many of the tombs and relics (including the Harpy and other inscribed tombs) are now in the BRITISH MUSEUM due to Sir Charles Fellows carrying off the greater part of its moveable art works in the 18th century.
The Lycians were a fiercely independent race, believed to have been of Cretan origin. They settled and defended the wide peninsula between Antalya and Dalaman around 1400 BC. They had their own language, inscriptions of which are still to be found and as yet still not fully understood !!!
When the persians beseiged the city of Xanthos in about 540 BC rather than surrender the men burnt their families and belongings before fighting to their death ! Only 80 families in the summer pastures in the moutains survived. Again in 42BC when Brutus laid siege to the city, there was a mass suicide and only 150 Xanthians serviving. What remains however is spectacular and not to be missed, most notably the mosaic floors and theatre.
This site is really for those who wish to see ancient ruins at its best - NOT TO BE MISSED
At a distance of 55 km from Fethiye you are going to need a car or jeep however this is another one not to miss. 
Xanthos was the capital of Lycia !! Set in a beautiful location above the Esencay river. Many of the tombs and relics (including the Harpy and other inscribed tombs) are now in the BRITISH MUSEUM due to Sir Charles Fellows carrying off the greater part of its moveable art works in the 18th century. 
When the persians beseiged the city of Xanthos in about 540 BC rather than surrender the men burnt their families and belongings before fighting to their death ! Only 80 families in the summer pastures in the moutains survived. Again in 42BC when Brutus laid siege to the city, there was a mass suicide and only 150 Xanthians serviving. What remains however is spectacular and not to be missed, most notably the mosaic floors and theatre. 
