According to the legend, this city with its three ports was founded by the Argosy colonists on the border of ancient Lycia and Pamphylia. It was governed for about 200 years by the Persians and, in 334 B.C., together with the whole of Lycia, fell to Alexander the Great. It is said that he was so enchanted with Phaselis that he spent the winter there.
As it was strategically located on the Syrian and Greek sea trading routes, it prospered greatly, especially when it was part to the Roman Empire, and was visited by Hadrian in 129 A.D. It mostly derived its income from the export of timber, rose oil and various perfumes. However, Phaselis did not enjoy very good trading reputation in ancient times.
In recent years, Turkish archaeologists have carried out a lot of excavations and restoration, and the ruins seen there today date almost entirely to the Roman and Byzantine eras.
History
Phaselis is an ancient Lycian city in the province of Antalya in Turkey. It is located between the Bey Mountains and the forests of Olympos National Park, 16 km west of the touristic town of Kemer and on the 57th kilometre of the Antalya-Kumluca highway. Phaselis and other ancient towns around the shore can also be accessed from the sea by daily yacht tours.
History
Phaselis has three harbours: the 'Northern Harbour', the 'Battle Harbour' and the 'Protected (Sun) Harbour', of which the last is the most important today. A 24-metre-wide ancient street runs through the middle of the city. The 'Hadrian Waterway Gate' is on the southern part of the street. There are ruins of shops and stores on the sides of the street and near these are ruins of public places such as Roman baths, agoras and theatres. These structures are dated to the 2nd century BC. There are water canals between the town centre and the 70 m plateau. There are also numerous sarcophagi.
 | Related to this zone |  |
| | | |
| |
