Patara
The Lycian League met in a roofed chamber here, and that chamber has been rebuilt. It is the only room on the Lycian coast where a group can sit down, in shade, and hear you.
- Location
- Kaş, Antalya
- Type
- Ancient city
- Typical visit
- 2 h
- Walking time
- 1 h 10 min
- Coordinates
- 36.2610, 29.3163
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Patara was the harbour city of Lycia and the seat of the Lycian League, the federal assembly of the Lycian cities. Its council chamber has been excavated and rebuilt with a roof, and you can walk into it.
The site also holds a theatre immediately below the chamber, a triple-arched city gate at the north entrance, a lighthouse out towards the shore, and a long beach beyond all of it. Sand is the constant here: it buried the city and it is still being cleared.
Use the chamber, because nothing else here is indoors
The assembly building is a roofed, enclosed room with stone seating. On a coast where every other site is open ground in full sun, that is a resource, not just an exhibit.
It is where the substance of the visit should happen: the League, the federal structure, what the building was for. Say it sitting down and out of the sun, then walk the group out to the theatre 99 m away and the rest becomes description rather than lecture.
The distances and the sand
From the city gate to the assembly building is about 610 m, and the theatre is 99 m below it. The harbour bath is 141 m from the gate, and the lighthouse is a further 653 m out from the theatre.
The surface between them is sand and low scrub, which is slower than it looks and much slower in the middle of the day. Groups also arrive knowing that the beach is at the end of the same ticket, and that changes what they are willing to walk.
Practical notes
- City gate to assembly building is about 610 m; the theatre is 99 m below the chamber.
- The assembly building is roofed and enclosed -- the only shade on the site.
- The ground is sand and scrub; walking is slower than the distances suggest.
- The lighthouse is 653 m beyond the theatre and belongs to a longer visit.
- The site and the beach share one entrance, so check the closing time before you plan the swim.
Walking order
The order we use, with the time each stop takes at a normal group pace.
The city gate
The triple arch at the north entrance to the site.
The assembly building
The roofed council chamber of the Lycian League.
The theatre
The theatre below the assembly building, cut into the slope.
3 stops · 1 h 10 min
36.2610, 29.3163
Coordinates are for orientation, not for navigation.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Notes for guides
What a guide needs to know before standing in front of a group here. Written from our own field work; where we have not verified something, it is not listed.
- RouteGate, assembly building, theatre. Do the talking inside the chamber; the theatre 99 m away then only needs pointing at.
- Being heardOutside, this is open coastal ground with a sea wind and nothing to break it. Inside the chamber is the one place on the site where a voice behaves normally.
- TimingMorning. The site is unshaded apart from the chamber, and the sand holds heat well into the afternoon.
- AccessSand and scrub underfoot for most of the route. Anyone who struggles on loose ground will find the 610 m from the gate harder than the number suggests.
- TipIf the group knows the beach is included, they are already thinking about it. Put the archaeology first and say clearly when the swim starts.
Photographs
Photo: Dosseman (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: Dosseman (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Common questions
- How long does a group need at Patara?
- About two hours for the gate, the assembly building and the theatre. Adding the lighthouse, 653 m beyond the theatre, makes it longer -- and the beach is a separate decision.
- What is the assembly building at Patara?
- The reconstructed council chamber of the Lycian League, the federal assembly of the Lycian cities. It is roofed and enclosed, which makes it the only indoor space on the site.
- Is the walking at Patara difficult?
- The distances are moderate -- about 610 m from the gate to the chamber -- but the surface is sand and low scrub, so it is slower and more tiring than the numbers suggest.
- Is Patara a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
- No. Patara is not on the World Heritage List.
Related articles
Sources
Facts on this page come from the sources below. Photographs are credited individually.
