Lycian Rock Tombs, Turkey
It may sound quite morbid and slightly creepy, going on holiday to visit funerary architecture, but in Lycia, on the southern coast of Turkey, witnessing the tombs of this culturally distinct land full of inscrutable people still gripping to an ancient past, really can be considered as being one a ‘far-out’ travel experience.
The most noticeable difference about the tombs of Lycia compared to ancient sepulchres in other countries and even other areas of Turkey, is that Lycian tombs are often integrated in the middle of cites, built on the coastline and on the top of cliffs. Compared to the usual more discreet locations of burial architecture on the outskirts of towns and cities, tombs in Lycia play centre-stage in the urban landscape, evidence of the Lycian people’s pious devotion to the belief of afterlife, ancestor worship, and demonstrating their ties with eastern traditions.
The people of Lycia developed carving tombstones from the limestone in the region into an art form. A recent count revealed there are 1085 undamaged and totally unique tombs scattered across Lycia. Their intricate detail, distinctiveness, sheer antiquity and dominant position generate fascination and explain why Lycian tombs have remained popular tourist attractions for many, many years.
Elaborate funeral chambers carved into the rock known as rock-cut tombs are the most common type of sepulchre in Lycia. It is believed that these crypts were constructed in the 5th century BC and their elaborate detail, carved beams and, in some cases Gothic arches, means these rock-cut tombs resemble the façade of a timber Lycian house and are captivating to visit.
Lycia is a beautiful and enchanting place and its ancient architecture and art is amongst the most spectacular in Europe, let alone Turkey. But it is Lycia’s prehistoric funerary architecture that is just that bit ‘extra special’
Cevat Sakir, the famous Turkish author once wrote:
“Take a blind man to Lycia, and he’ll immediately know from the smell of the air exactly where he is. The acrid perfume of lavender, the pungent fragrance of wild mint and thyme, will tell him.”
There are many beautiful places to see in Turkey, but Lycia with its stunning landscapes, flagrant smells and spellbinding mausoleums could be considered as unsurpassable.
