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Demre is a village
some three kilometers from the coast and stands near the site of ancient
Myra, famed as the Episcopal seat of St Nicholas, patron saint of pawnbrokers
and sailors, and known to children as Father Christmas.
Within the village
of Demre you find a now disused church dedicated to the saint. It is
a heavily restored eleventh-century Byzantine structure with three apses
and a basilica built on the site of an earlier sanctuary of the same
name. The basilica is preceded by an atrium and a double narthex. A
sarcophagus, believed to be the tomb of St. Nicholas, is early Christian
in date. This Saint is perhaps now better known as Santa Claus, the
bearer of gifts to children at Christmas time.
Nicholas suffered
martyrdom here in 655 and his grave soon became a famous place of pilgrimage,
but in 1072 his bones were stolen by merchants from Bari, Italy, where
they rest today in a church dedicated to his name.
Myra was one of
the earliest Lycian cities. The site of ancient Myra and the necropolis
are about one and a half kilometers to the north of Demre. The most
notable surviving monument there is a splendid, 2nd century late Roman
theatre; this stands below a dramatic cliff in whose face are hewn some
of the most remarkable excellent collection of rock tombs in Lycia,
many of them still decorated with beautifully carved figures in low
relief, usually depicting funerary scenes. Myra features some of the
most impressive and well-preserved Lycian monuments in the country.
Many of the tombs
have log cabin features carved into the rock, presumably reflecting
the domestic architecture of the period. A few easily accessible ones
have inscriptions in the ancient Lycian language. Carvings above are
mostly in poor repair but the overall effect of this jumble of the architecture
of death is dramatic.
The theater, like
many others in major Roman cities, was later converted into an arena
for gladiator fights and wild animal shows. Many carvings and inscriptions
in the theater are still visible, and cavernous tunnels and access ways
to the side have been cleared. While much of the seating is intact,
the stage building is partly collapsed. A macabre set of three carved
masks, presumably from the frieze, lies among the jumble of remains
in the approach to the theater.
Today Demre is an
important agricultural town on the Mediterranean coast of Anatolia.
Around Demre there are also ruins of Andriake on Cayagzi beach and Kekova,
Simena and Teimussa, which are accessible by either a short boat ride
or a short drive.
Santa
Claus
Antalya
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