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ALL TURKEY TOURS |
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INFORMATION |
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MYRA
The ancient city of Myra, located a few kilometers out of
Demre in the north, was one of the earliest Lycian cities.
Myra was renowned throughout centuries as the city where St.
Nicholas had lived in the 4C AD.
History of Myra
Although according to ancient sources the name of Myra only
goes back as early as 1C BC, the inscriptions or coins found
imply that it must have been from the 5C BC. Myra was always
one of the most important cities in Lycia, and during the
Hellenistic period was one of the six cities in the Lycian
League that had the maximum quota of three votes at meetings
of the federation.
When St. Paul was being taken as a prisoner to Rome in 60
AD, his ship called at Myra.
In the Byzantine period Myra was a prominent city not only
for religious reasons but also from an administrative point
of view. During the reign of Theodosius II Myra became the
capital of Lycia. However, in the Turkish period it was
abandoned.
The Site
The ruins consist mainly of a theater and some of the best
examples of Lycian rock-cut tombs. The rest of the city has
not been excavated yet. The acropolis, as expected, is at
the top of the hill.
The Roman Theater is well preserved. In the center of the
two-meter-high wall (6.5 ft) backing the diazoma, near the
stairs leading to the upper rows is a figure of Tyche, the
Goddess of fortune, with an inscription "Victory and good
fortune to the city beneath". The stage building, like in
all Roman theaters, is very ornate.
The 4C BC Rock-cut Tombs, some with temple facades and
beautifully carved reliefs representing the dead and their
families or warriors, are among the most fascinating remains
of Anatolia. Inscriptions are usually in Lycian. These house
types are believed to have copied the dwellings of the early
inhabitants of the region.
Climbing up the tombs is dangerous and not allowed.St.
Nicholas (c.300-350 AD)
Saint Nicholas was born in Patara and became the bishop of
the Christian church of Myra, in Lycia, about whom little is
known with certainty. His reputation for generosity and
compassion is best exemplified in the legend that relates
how Nicholas saved a poor man from a life of prostituting
his three daughters. On three separate occasions the bishop
is said to have tossed a bag of gold through the family’s
window, thus providing a dowry to procure for each daughter
an honorable marriage. The story provides the foundation for
the custom, still practiced in many countries, of giving
gifts in celebration of the saint’s day, which was December
6. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of children and
sailors. Variations of his name range from Sant Nikolaas to
Sante Klaas to Santa Claus; he is known as Father Christmas
in England, Grandfather Frost in Russia, Pere Noel in France
and Saint Nick in the United States.
Noel Baba Kilisesi (The Church of St. Nicholas)
St. Nicholas was buried in a tomb outside the city of Myra
over which a chapel was subsequently erected. In the 6C it
was replaced by a large church. This church is located in
the town of Demre. The building was damaged by the Arab
raids then repaired and surrounded with walls by Constantine
IX and the Empress Zoë in the 11C. At the end of the 11C
Italians from Bari stole the bones of St. Nicholas breaking
his sarcophagus and built a famous pilgrimage church over
his mortal remains in Bari. Several relics of St. Nicholas
such as fragments of his jawbone and skull, are today kept
in the Archeological Museum of Antalya. In the museum each
year on December 6, the commemoration day of the saint, the
Turkish government sponsors a St. Nicholas symposium
attended by both scholars and clerics. On the same day a
religious service is held in the church of St. Nicholas in
Demre.
The church in Demre was restored a few times in the 19C and
20C. It has gained
more popularity since 1950 because of its association with
Santa Claus. The church is preceded by an atrium and a
double narthex. The walls were covered with 11C and 12C
frescoes fragments of which are still visible. The floor was
decorated with mosaics of geometric designs. In the apse of
the central nave is the synthronon, semicircular rows of
seats for the clergy, with a special place for the bishop’s
throne and a walkway underneath. The central nave is
separated from the side aisles by arcades. The roof was
originally domed but covered with a vault during
restorations.
The south aisle of the church, between two pillars and
behind a broken marble screen, contains a damaged
sarcophagus in which St. Nicholas is thought to have been
buried. The lid does not belong to the sarcophagus. Where
St. Nicholas was actually buried is still unknown. However,
the processional way that led directly to the second south
aisle was perhaps intended for pilgrims visiting the tomb.
In the niches of aisles are a number of 2C AD Roman marble
sarcophagi taken there from Myra and reused for the
entombment of church dignitaries. In the narthex there is a
fresco depicting Deesis.
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