Lycia,
was a region in Anatolia .Lycia is including historical and natural value
and the most interesting place .In ancient time was called as a ''The
Light Country''Antique cities and nature were together everytime.
Ancient district,
southwestern Anatolia. Located along the Mediterranean Sea coast in
present-day Turkey, in ancient times it was situated between the regions
of Caria and Pamphylia. By the 8th century
BC
it was a thriving maritime country. It later fell to king Cyrus II of
the Persian Achaemenian dynasty. Annexed to Roman Pamphylia in
AD
43, after the 4th century it became a separate Roman province.The
region is split between Antalya (on the east) and Muğla (on the west)
provinces. The major city is
Fethiye
built on ancient Telmessos. Well known towns include
Kalkan,
Kaş,
and Demre (ancient Myra). Inland Elmalı is fairly important.
Turkey's first waymarked long-distance footpath, the
Lycian Way,
follows part of the coast of the region.
The principal cities of ancient Lycia were
Xanthos,
Patara,
Myra,
Pinara,
Tlos
and
Olympos
(each entitled to three votes in the Lycian League) and
Phaselis.
Cities such as Telmessos and Krya were sometimes listed by Classical
authors as Carian and sometimes as Lycian.
Ancient names can sometimes be difficult to match with modern features:
the Cragus and Anticragus mountains on the west side of the
Xanthos river seem to include modern Babadağ.
The
Lycians, spoke an Indo-European language, belonging to its Anatolian
branch. The closest language to the Lycian language is the Luwian
language, which was spoken in Anatolia during the 2nd and early 1st
millennium BC; it may even be its direct ancestor
Six
most important cities of ancient
Lycia
Xanthos, Patara, Olympos, Pinara, Tlos, and Myra
