| | | Olympos (Cirali) (Turkey)
| | | | Olympos is an ancient city which is located in a valley at the south coast of Turkey, 90 km southwest of Antalya city near the Town of Kumluca. | | Olympos - Chimaera : Virtual tour |  | 14 sections and 5 items |
| | Olympos - Chimaera : Description | |
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Though a very ancient city nearby Antalya, in the Mediterranean coast of Anatolia, the early history of Olympos is shrouded in mystery. Its name is probabily derived from Olympos (Tahtali) mountain about 15 km north of the city. We know it was an important Lycian city by the 2nd century B.C. because Strabon mentioned that Olympos had 3 votes in the Lycian League. The Olympians worshipped Hephaestos (Vulcan), the god of fire. No doubt this veneration sprang from reverence for the mysterious site of Chimeira, an eternal flame which still springs from the earth not far from the city. The town declined in the 1st century B.C. when it was controlled by the pirates, until the arrival of the Romans in the 2nd century A.D. In the 3rd century pirate attacks brought impoverishment. In the Middle Ages, Venetians, Genoese and Rhodians built fortresses along the coast. And finally by the 15th century Olympus had been abandoned after the arrival of the Ottomans.
The site is fascinating, not just for its ruins that are fragmentary and widely scattered amidst the thick greenery of wild grapevines, flowering oleander, bay trees, wild figs and pines, but for its archeological site just inland from a beautiful beach along the course of a stream (Akcay river) which runs through a rocky gorge.
Today, Olympos (known as Cirali in Turkish) is a popular place for young people or budget travelers which overnight at small camping sites or pensiyons, or in their tents. There are several attractions nearby, such as Chimaera site.
Activities
The Olympos village is located in the heart of the Olympos coastal national park. The surrounding area offers best conditions for Trekking, Mountain biking, Canyoning, Rock climbing, Sea kayaking. It is possible to rent equipment in the village or to join organized tours.
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympos
Text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License | | Olympos - Chimaera : History | |
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The former city of Olympos was founded in the Hellenistic period, presumably taking its name from nearby Mount Olympos (Turkish : Tahtalı Dağı, Timber Mountain), one of over twenty mountains with the name Olympos in the Classical world.
From these mountains of the Solymi, according to Homer, the god Poseidon looked out to sea and saw Odysseus sailing away from Calypso's island, and called up a great storm that wrecked him on the shores of the island of Nausicaa.
The coins of the city of Olympos date back to the 2nd century BC. It was described by Cicero as an ancient city full of riches and works of art. The city became one of the six leading cities of the Lycian federation. In the 1st century BC, Olympos was invaded and settled by Cilician pirates. This ended in 78 BC, when the Roman commander Publius Servilius Isauricus, accompanied by the young Julius Caesar, took the city after a victory at sea, and added Olympos to the Roman Empire. The pirate Zenicetes set fire to his own house and perished. The emperor Hadrian visited the city after which it took the name of Hadrianopolis for a period, in his honour.
The chief deity of Olympos was Hephaestus, god of fire and blacksmiths. Near Olympos, located in the neighbouring village of Çıralı and about 200 meters above sea level, the eternal flames called the Chimaera may be seen issuing from the ground. The fuel source for the flames is natural gas, largely methane, seeping through cracks in the earth. The mythical Chimaera - or Chimera - was a monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a serpent, who roamed these woods and sprouted fire from her mouth.
In the Middle Ages, Venetians, Genoese and Rhodians built two fortresses along the coast, but by the 15th century Olympos had been abandoned. Today the site attracts tourists, not only for the artifacts that can still be found (though fragmentary and widely scattered), but also for its scenic landscapes supporting wild grapevines, flowering oleander, bay trees, figs and pines.
Chimaera
The Chimaera take its name from the myth of Bellerophon. The Lycian King, Lobates, sent Bellerophon to kill the fire-breathing monster, part lion, goat and serpent, which was created by two underworld creatures : Typhon and Ekhidna. With the aid of the winged horse Pegasus, he succeeded, and returned, after completing other tasks set by Lobates, to Xanthos where he married the king's daughter and became heir of the Lycian throne. Carried away by his success, Bellerophon tried to ride Pegasus up to Mount Olympus. For his presumption, he earned a great thunderbolt from Zeus.
The site is located near Olympos and is known as Yanartas (burning stone in Turkish), because of the blue flames sparkling out from the rocks at the bottom of Tahtali mountain of Taurus mountain range at around 250 meters above the sea level. Chemical analysis show that it's the methane gas coming out off the earth. Some historic writers mentioned about these flames since from the 4th century BC, and that sailors in the past used the flames as a lighthouse while they sailed along this coast at night time.
To get to the site, first of all you have to get to Yanar Bogazi grounds (about 3,5 km from Cirali village) where you have to pay for the entrance, and then start to trek on the 1400 meters-long path (10% of inclination) to get up to these flaming rocks, the view is very interesting especially at night time. The ruins near the flames are mostly from the Byzantine period including churches and houses, but there are also some remainings from earlier periods such as of a pagan temple dedicated to Hephaestus. So far, no archeological excavations have been carried out yet. | | Olympos - Chimaera : More pictures | |
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