Things To Do in Demre

The port of Andriake at the mouth of Myra Creek (the Demre River) provided access to friendly merchant ships sailing up the river while the enclosed body of water protected Myra from direct attack by sea. Emperor Trajan chose this harbor as a base for his expeditions to the East; it…

This church (formerly known as the Church of St. Nicholas or Aya Nicola Kilisesi) is an important mid-Byzantine-Era building, even though nothing of the original remains. The first temple on the site was built for the mother goddess Artemis, but collapsed in an earthquake in the 2nd…

Lycians believed that burying their dead high up would facilitate their rise to heaven. Until then, it seems that they expected the dead to spend some time on earth, as the tombs are carved to look like cozy old homes, complete with pediments, pillars, and support beams. Additional…