Last updated on .
Tlos (Τλώς) was one of the oldest and largest Lycian cities. Its ruins lie in a spectacular setting in modern-day Turkey, just four kilometers from the Saklıkent Gorge.
History of Tlos
Tlos, originally known in Lycian as Tlawa, was an important city as early as the 15th century BC. Around 540 BC, it was conquered by Median general Harpagus on behalf of the Persians and absorbed into the Persian Empire. The Persians ruled until the late 4th century BC and the city became prosperous during that time. It took its Greek name during the Hellenistic period, which lasted until 190 BC, when the Romans put it under the control of the island of Rhodes.
Tlos was granted autonomy as a Roman protectorate in 168 BC as one of the six principal cities of the Lycian League. In 43 AD, Lycia became a Roman province under Emperor Claudius, and Tlos bore the title of “very brilliant metropolis of the Lycian nation”. The city was leveled by an earthquake in 141 and rebuilt by Opromaos of Rhodiapolis and another wealthy benefactor. Another earthquake caused severe damage in 240. During the Christian period, Tlos became an important bishopric.
The site was rediscovered in 1838 by British archaeologist Charles Fellows (1799-1860) and explored by Thomas Spratt (1811-1888). The first scientific survey of the city was conducted in 1992 by Akdeniz University. Excavations began in 2005 and continue today.
Visiting Tlos
Tlos is open daily and admission for foreigners is €3 (as of April 2024). If you don’t have your own car, you can take a minibus from Fethiye to Yakaköy and walk the four kilometers up to the archeological site. It’s also possible to hire a taxi for the day and combine your visit with the Saklıkent Gorge. I recommend spending about one to two hours visiting the site.
Stadium
The first feature of the ancient city you’ll come to is the Stadium. It’s a large open space at the foot of the Acropolis. It was first built during the Hellenistic period and was modified during the Roman period. The original length of the stadium is unknown.
The Stadium had a seating capacity of 2,500. Seats were cut directly into the natural bedrock. There are nine rows of seats and a parapet on the west side with a horizontal walkway above the seats. Only a 148 meter stretch of the seats exists today.
In the center of the Stadium is a pool running parallel to the track. It measures 72 x 8.3 meters and is 1 meter deep. A fountain sits on the north end of the pool, and there’s a one meter wide drainage system around it to prevent overflowing. The pool indicates the Stadium was also used for social and ritual activities.
The north, south, and east sides of the stadium area were surrounded by a colonnaded portico. The east side also served as a street lined by shops from the Agora.
Necropolis of Tlos
The Necropolis is on the slopes of the Acropolis. It was used continuously from the Classical period onwards. It consists of two types of tombs.
Rock-Cut Tombs
First are the rock-cut tombs. They were reserved for the most important burials and have impressive façades. Some were meant to imitate the traditional wooden architecture of Lycia while others were made to look like temples. Many are decorated with carvings while others include various architectural elements.
Rock-cut tombs were sometimes used as family tombs. The interiors include stone beds for placement of the bodies. Offerings and bones from previous burials were swept into pits in the center. Tombs were also reused in later periods. For example, during the Roman period, brick beds were built to replace the stone beds.
Sarcophagi
The other type of tomb in the Necropolis is the sarcophagus. The Lycian sarcophagi have rounded lids while the Roman type have triangular lids. Some were placed on podiums.
Acropolis of Tlos
The Acropolis borders Tlos on the west side. It was the most important part of the city and the location of the ruler’s palace beginning in the Early Classical period.
The Acropolis contains traces of structures from the Classical period through the Late Ottoman period. They can be seen walking up to the summit as well as on the flat part on the west side.
A fortification wall was built around the Acropolis in the first half of the 5th century to protect a new settlement on the south slope. The settlement expanded beyond the wall in the 11th century. The wall is visible from the Small Bath.
Ottoman Mansion
The most recent structure on the summit of the Acropolis is a mansion built in the early 19th century by notorious Ottoman feudal lord Kanlı Ali Ağa. It was used as his winter residence and contained a fortress with barracks. Stones from ancient buildings on the Acropolis were used in its construction.
One of the most interesting structures is a rectangular building on the northwest side of the summit with what appears to be a chimney on the north side of the building. If I had to guess, it’s the Ottoman barracks. It’s not labeled anywhere at the site. If anyone can identify the building, please let me know.
Views from the Acropolis
Lastly, there are fantastic views of Tlos and the surrounding countryside from the summit of the Acropolis. I took the photo at the beginning of this post as well as other features of the archaeological site from there.
Agora
The Agora sits between the Stadium and Theatre. It was the commercial, political, administrative, social, and cultural center of the city. The Agora existed during the Hellenistic period, but most of the blocks date to the 2nd century and the Roman period.
The west side of the Agora featured two-story shops bordering the Stadium. The first floor was open to the Stadium while the second floor was open to the Agora.
The Agora has not yet been excavated so the architectural features are not fully apparent. Archaeologists also believe the area was repurposed in the Early Byzantine period. A modern road also cuts through the middle of the Agora.
Basilica
A short walk along the road through the Agora leads to the Basilica. It was built during the Early Byzantine period and modified during the Middle Byzantine period. The doors that opened to the narthex and atrium stand on the north side of the building.
The Basilica measured 84 x 33 meters on a cross-shaped plan. There was a central nave flanked by aisles on each side separated by two rows of columns. Eight windows each on the north and south walls provided natural light. At the east end of the nave is the apse.
The walls of the nave were covered in plaster and decorated with frescoes while the floor was covered with mosaics. The mosaics had geometric designs. Finally, there was a small chapel attached to the south wall. It was the last addition to the building.
Temple of Cronus
A few steps south of the Basilica is the Temple of Cronus, which is one of the best preserved buildings at Tlos. It was built in the 2nd century in the Corinthian order and sits on a podium measuring 15.67 x 7.78 meters. The podium is 1.89 meters high and the temple is accessible via 7 steps on the north side.
The temple was 10 meters high. The pronaos measures 5.14 x 3.07 meters and had a door that opened to a cella measuring 6.97 x 5.23 meters. The original floor slabs were removed for use in the Basilica. The friezes were decorated with floral designs and the pediments on the north and east sides had lion’s head waterspouts.
Great Bath
The Great Bath is one of two bath structures at Tlos. It was built in the Early Roman period and renovated in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. In the 11th century, the Great Bath was converted to a church.
The Great Bath consisted of three adjoining rooms. The room to the east was the cold room (frigidarium). It was entered through a monumental gate. The apse at the end has seven arched windows with views of the valley to the south as well as a small pool. During the Byzantine period, the cold room was used as a cemetery.
Two doors on the western wall provided access to the warm room (tepidarium), while the third room on the west was the hot room (caldarium). Both the warm and hot rooms used a system that heated the rooms from the floor and the side walls. After the Great Bath became a church, the hot room was the narthex and the warm room was the nave.
Small Bath
The Small Bath sits nearby. It was built in the Early Roman period and restored after earthquakes in 141 and 240. The Small Bath also has three rooms. The east room is understood to be the cold room because there’s no heating system.
The room through the arched gate is the warm room. It contains three arched windows on the west wall overlooking the Stadium and Acropolis. There’s evidence of a heating system in the floor and walls.
Finally, a gate in the center of the warm room opens to the hot room. It’s much smaller than the cold and hot rooms. An arched gate on the north wall of the hot room opens to a palaestra measuring 63 x 45 meters. It was surrounded by a colonnade on all four sides and contained dressing rooms and a fountain on the north and south sides.
Theatre of Tlos
The Theatre of Tlos is on the east end of the archaeological site. It’s one of the best preserved structures in the city. Construction began in the Hellenistic period. It was restored in the 1st century BC and several times after during the Roman period.
The Theatre was built into a slope and had a three-story stage building. The façade of the stage building contained floral and figural decorations. The diameter of the orchestra is 20.5 meters.
The entrances to the auditorium are via two vaulted passages on the north and south sides. Two more vaults provide access to the horizontal walkway dividing the auditorium into two sections. The lower part of the auditorium contains 20 rows of seats, while the upper one has 16. Stone seats reserved for VIPs are above the horizontal walkway. There was also a small temple on the top level of the auditorium.
