The base for all rides will be Fethiye, Mugla, Turkey. This will either be used as a central point for daily rides, or a start and finish point for circular routes.
A brief history of the area is below, but suffice to say that it is a coastal town with a naturally protected harbour.
Despite its' natural beauty, it is a normal working town, unspoilt by the ravages of tourism. To put it quite simply, they cater for tourists, but don't allow visitors to dominate the town with fish and chip shops or cheap holiday trinkets.
The harbour's waterfront cafes are a great place to unwind and watch the sun set over the horizon.
Standing back from the town itself is the Taurus mountain range, with its spectacular ridges and gorges filled with fresh, cold spring water.
The weather here is outstanding all year round, if a little too hot for some in July/August. Please see the Links Page for current weather conditions.
If you want to know what's happening in Fethiye, there is also a link to a local English newspaper on the Links Page.
A Potted History of Fethiye
Fethiye is located on the Lycian and Carian border and was called Telmessos in ancient times. The city was very prominent and a centre of prophecy, pledged to Apollon (Apollo in Latin). City life was rich and highly cultured during the Hellenistic and Roman periods and this is is clearly evident from the existing monuments. Today the majority of ancient ruins in Telmessos are rock-tombs, Lycian-type sarcophagi, the Crusader Castle and the Roman Theatre.
The peninsula lying between Fethiye and Antalya was known as Lycia in the ancient times. Lycians were natives of Anatolia and sea-faring people as mentioned in Homer’s Iliad and Kadesh War Peace Agreement document.
The 'Tomb of Amyntas', which could be considered as the insignia of Fethiye, strikes the eye with its grandeur on the slope as you enter the bay. This tomb's façade was built 'in antis', resembling an Ionic temple, with columns fronting the portico. Amyntas is believed to have been a King or Governor of Telmessos during the Hellenistic period.
Within the city there are quite a number of Lycian-type sarcophagi. On these there are epitaphs in the Lycian scripture. The sarcophagus near the government house is especially worthy of note.
The Crusader Castle stands where the city was first founded and the existing walls are from the 11th Century (during the priod of the first Crusade). However, parts of walls are from the Roman period. The fortress was repaired by the Rhodesian Knights during the 15th Century and was used as a naval base.
Telmessos Ancient Theatre stands opposite to the commercial quay at Fethiye town centre. This is a typical Roman theatre & was built in 2nd. Century on the remains of an earlier 'Greek style' one. The site was escavated by the Fethiye Archaeology Museum in 1993 and a restoration project was made to renovate the theatre’s cavea and stage.
There are plans to further excavate this amphitheatre and restore it to its' former glory, but this would involve the destruction of several long-standing Ottoman houses and is causing quite a stir.
Fethiye Archaeology Museum exhibits numerous Archaeological findings from the Lycian,Hellenistic, Roman and Ottoman periods as well as ethnological works of art typical of the region.
The Teke Peninsula, lying between Fethiye and Antalya was known as LYCIA in the ancient times. In fact the Lycians participated in the Kadesh War together with Hittites, which indicates that they were one of the oldest tribes of Anatolia.
Lycia was invaded by the Persians, Alexander The Great, Romans and Byzantines but was never evacuated.
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