Author: tur

There are three ways of reaching Kaunos which attract great attention today owing to its Venetian type of channel and Lycian type of tombs. The visitors who come by means of their yachts, land on the island named Delikli Ada and reach the site of the ruins by starting off in small boats from here; those who come from Marmaris by sea route, drop anchor in the vicinity of Delikli Ada and also reach the site of the ruins in small boats; and those who come by land route, reach the ruins by starting boats from the Village of Dalyan which is at a distance of 27 km from Koycegiz.

The existance of the ruins of Kaunos was first discovered in the year 1842, and excavations have been carried on there by the Turkish archaeologists under the supervision of Prof. Baki Ogun since 1967. Kaunos, the son of Miletos, had been indicated as the founder of the city and therefore, it had been named Kaunos. The city was first captured by the Persians and then by Alexander and in the year 189 B.C., it was made subject to the Kingdom of Rhodes. We know that it continued until the year 167 B.C.

Kaunos was the subjected to the kingdom of Pergamon and was brought directly under the sovereignty of Rome after 133 B.C. You reach the site of the ruins by means of channel adorned with Lycian type tombs belonging to the 4th century B.C. The first place that we see is the acropolis of Kaunos. The northern part of the city wall, which surrounds the acropolis, belongs to the period of Mausolos. The northwestern part has Hellenistic qualities. And starting from the harbour are seen the city walls of Cyclopean type belonging to the Archaic Period.

The theater belonging to the Roman Period is located at the skirt of the acropolis and its southern part is carved in the rock; the other parts are shaped into seats supported by gable roof vaults. There are 33 rows of seats, the scene has collapsed and the part of the orchestra has been filled in. A temple, revealed by the recent excavations, is located at far west of the theater, and a church and the magnificent walls of the Roman Bath are visible beyond it. Another temple belonging to the Roman Period is located behind the bath.

As we go downwards, we see the remains of a wall built in the shape of three fourths of a circle with a row of columns on it and, behind it, a temple of the Doric order. The locality called Suluklu Gol (Lake of Leeches) in Caunos today, was a harbour closed by means of chains during the Antique Period. The excavations performed at the north of this harbour have revealed a stoa which used to form a part of the port agora. The fountain near the stoa has a plan of inantis style and has been restored recently, and the inscription which is seen on its side facing the harbour, contains the written decrees concerning the customs house.

Located in the north of Bodrum, the ancient city of is Euromos worth visiting because of her temple. The city got its name 4th century BC when Caria became under the Greek rule. It is suggested that the name Euromos was also used for the district. The Temple of Zeus, which was partially searched and excavated, revealed some interesting results indicating the existence of an earlier shrine there. This Corinthian temple with peirpteros plan with 6*11 columns is believed to built during the time of Hadrian.

The existence of some unfluted columns show that the temple never got the finishing touches. From the inscriptions on the columns, we understand that prominent figures of the city donated those columns to the temple. Sixteen of the columns are still standing with their splendid Corinthian capitals.

Twelve of the standing coleus have plaques with dedicatory inscriptions, mentioning the name of the state physians and magistrate Menecrates and his daughter who presented these columns and other five columns with the dedications of magistrate Leo Quintus. An altar was unearthed at the east of the temple.

Located in the north of Bodrum, the ancient city of is Euromos worth visiting. The city got its name 4th century BC when Caria became under the Greek rule. The Temple of Zeus, which was partially searched and excavated, revealed some interesting results indicating an earlier shrine existed here. This Corinthian temple with peipteros plan with 6*11 columns is believed to built during the time of Hadrian. The existence of some unfluted columns show that the temple never got the finishing touches. From the inscriptions on the coleus, we understand that prominent figures of the city donated those columns to the temple

Due to its privileged location, its marble and fishing, Iassos had been inhabited since the earliest days of the history. The city was founded by the Greek colonist coming from Argos nearly 9th BC and then inhabited by the immigrants from Miletus. However, Italian archaeologists under the directorate of Doro Levi have found Minoan houses and Mycenaean pottery which indicates that the site had been inhabited at much earlier date than arrival of Greeks.

The digs started 1960s reveled that oldest part of Iassos was on the top of Acropolis hill, now taken by the Byzantine fortress. These evidences show some similarities between the Crete, Greece and Anatolian cultures. The chief divinities of Iassos were Apollo and Artemis. One of the inscriptions discovered in Iasos mentions Artemis Astias, apparently mixture of old Carian deity Goddess with Artemis the hunter. Her temple had unroofed cella. On the other side, theatre and festivals arranged for Dionysus shows also importance of God Dionysus in Iasos. The city is mainly is situated on the rocky island with the exception of city walls and necropolis.

One of the very impressive monuments of Iasos is a monumental mausoleum, a temple tomb in Syrian style. The burial chamber is surmounted by small Corinthian temple which rested on 10 stepped crepidoma. Although it is dated to Roman Period and many skeletons were discovered in the tomb, we have no idea about the identities of the owners. Behind the village, there are extensive ruins of a defense wall dating to 4th century BC. Rectangular in shape and situated at a certain distance from the town, this wall is believed to be used by a garrison protecting the city.

Among the noteworthy monuments, we can mention partly excavated agora; well preserved Odeon dated to Roman Imperial Period; Ceasarium where main deities of the city were worshipped; ruins of a Roman theatre dedicated to Dionysus and to the people of Iasos; a Roman villa where Italian team discovered the remains of Roman Mosaics and frescoes; a shrine dedicated to Demeter and Kore.

Some of the coins discovered at Iassos show the Dolphin and a young boy. This reminds us the story of a young boy who was befriended by a dolphin, a story both mentioned by Plinius and Aelian. According to Plinius, Alexander the Great was so charmed with the story of Dolphin and young boy, he took the youth along with him on his campaign to Asia and made the boy the head of priesthood of Poseidon, the god of Sea.

Labranda, is a holy area of Zeus Labraundos, is in ancient Karia (South-western Anatolia), 14 km to the north-east of Mylasa city to which it is affiliated. The most ancient findings belong to the year 600 BC.The area that was used as holy area in the 6th and the 5th centuries and then as temple terrace consisted of a single, small, artificial terrace. A war took place in the holy area in 497 BC and Karia army has been defeated by the Persian army with its alliances. The 4th century BC is the most important period for the temple.

At the times of the satraps named Mausolos (377 – 352 BC) and Idrieus (351 – 344 BC), this place gained a new appearance. In 355, during the sacrifice festival in Labranda, Mausolos escaped from an assassination attempt on his life at the last moment. Buildings such as a series of artificial terraces, one or two entrance buildings, a small Dor building (probably a fountain building), monumental stairs, two large feast halls (androns), a shed building (called oikoi), Stoa and Zeus Temple surrounded with columns must have been constructed after this event. With the death of Idrieus in 344, such works have been stopped. Because of the big fire disaster that took place in the 4th century BC, the holy area has lost its feature of being a cult place.

The excavation works here were started in 1948 by A.W.Persson and have been continuing with intervals since that time. The current excavations are being conducted by P. Hellstrom. The access from Mylasa to the holy area was provided via the holy road which is 8 metres wide.

The laying traces on this road can be seen even today. The access to the area was provided with one of the two entrance buildings (propylon). These were impressive passage doors made of Milas marble, having two columns and Ionian frontons on each side. The building called “Dor building” was located to the east of the southern propylon building with its irregular formation, which resembles a rectangle.

It is a building that is turned towards north, has four columns, a front courtyard, a marble side and is in Dor style. It had the function of a fountain building. This small building was included in the bath complex. The stadium lies 200 m to the west of the holy building. Its back side is reinforced with a retaining wall. The starting and final stones used for the competitions still exist at both ends. It is supposed that some competitions were organized in the holy area here during the feast of 5 days.