Olympos (Lycia)

These are the ruins of an ancient port city in the Turkish province of Antalya, one of the six main cities of the Lycian Union - it had as many as three votes in the union council. It lies in a valley where the river makes its way to the Mediterranean Sea.

In the 1st century BC. the city became famous not for trade, but for piracy - for which it was even expelled from the Lycian Union and returned only a century later.

Remains of Roman baths, several Byzantine churches with mosaic floors, tombs and necropolises along the streets, fortress walls made of polygonal masonry and an arched bridge across the river.

Khimera (Yanartash) is burning nearby - eternal fires that come out of the ground by themselves. And there is also a beach near the village of Chiraly, so it is easy to combine the ruins with swimming.

The nearest reference point is the village of Çiraly in the province of Antalya, from there you can reach the ruins with your hand. The place works as a tourist zone all year round, but it is nicer here not in the midst of the summer heat.