Turkey Field Trip

From The Schommunity Wiki

A really good website on Lycian Turkey [1]

Day 1 – Tlos and Saklıkent

The first day of the field trip is always the worst. This is when you found out if the students have forgotten to bring something. After breakfast we had a quick check to make sure the all of the students didn’t leave the hotel without; Sunscreen, a hat, bottled water (at least 2 litres) and proper walking boots. These are the daily essentials for any archaeology work in Turkey as the normal temperature for this time of year is about 36 – 40°C and without water and a hat you can quickly get heat exhaustion. This is especially dangerous when you are a few hours drive from the nearest help. Luckily for us the students came well prepared and had everything they need for their first day.

Tlos

After about a one hour drive we arrived at the first site on our tour Tlos. Tlos was one of the six principal cities of Lycia. Today Tlos is dominated by a medieval Turkish fortress dating back to the Ottoman period. If you want a full history of the see the website I reference at the beginning of the blog.

Once we had finished explored the acropolis we took a short wall to the baths, taking a quick pit stop at the local café at the bottom. Eating in a local café in Turkey is always fun. Once you have got your drinks you get to see what other produce the shop own is selling.

Then we took a quick walk down to the bath house and theatre

Saklıkent

Saklıkent Gorge (Hidden City) is the second largest in Europe and the longest and deepest gorge in Turkey. Our minibus parked just outside of the gorge and we donned our plastic shoes (available at the entrance) and began to wade up river through the gorge. We continued into the gorge for about 2km until we got to a point we were unable to pass. You can continue down the gorge for another 20km or more, but as not all the students would be able to this point we decided to start the walk back. Once we arrived back at the entrance to the gorge we retired to a nice cup of tea and an ice cream.

An Evening in Fethiye

In the evening, we took a short walk from our accommodation down into Fethiye. Along the way we stopped to look at the Rock cut tombs and to catch the sunset from one of the best vantage point in the city, which strangely was one of the best rock cut tombs in Fethiye. It also provided the opportunity for lots of picturesque photographs of the tomb and Fethiye.

We ended the day with a meal in the Old Bazaar and dessert on the harbour.

Day 2 – Xanthos, Letoon and Patara

Xanthos

Xanthos was the capital city of the Lyican Federation and had a violent history. The people of Xanthos were well known for their independence. It was recorded that on two occasions the people of Xanthos committed mass suicide rather than surrender to an invading army.

Xanthos is an archaeologically significant site. However a large amount of the important features of the site such as the Harpy Tomb were removed to the British Museum during the 19th century. The artefacts taken from Xanthos can still be seen in the British Museum. Of the remaining features at the site the Xanthian Obelisk is one of the more important features. The Xanthian Obelisk is the remains of a pillar tomb built for a local ‘hero’. Around the pillar is an inscription in both Greek and Lykian. As the ancient Greek language is known, it was possible to use the pillar to translate the Lykian language, in a similar process to the Rosetta Stones.

Letoon

The second site of the day we visited was Letoon. Letoon was the sacred cult centre of Lycia Federation. The site of Letoon was dedicated to three deities Leto and her two children Apollo and Artemis. This provides the site with the unique feature of having three temples side by side, one dedicated to Leto, one to Apollo and one to Artemis. Much of the site today has been reclaimed by the surrounding marsh land. Excavation and reconstruction work at the Letoon have uncovered and restore some sections of the temples.

Patara

The third and final site of the day was Patara. Located at the mouth of the Xanthos River, Patara is one of the six principal cities of Lycia and was the major trading port for the Federation. Much of Patara is still part of a major ongoing excavation, with large parts of the city being covered in sand. Being a major harbour for the Lycia Federation, Patara is very close to the beach. So natural this is where we ended the day :-).

BBQ at the Hotel with the Students

On the third night in Turkey we had a barbeque at the hotel with the students. This was a special night as I was the first chance we all had to sit down together and socials. As up until that point it had been pretty hectic visiting sites. BBQ’s in Turkey are very big social occasions, were everyone prepares or brings along food.