Istlada Antik Kenti

About Istlada Antik Kenti

Istlada is an ancient Lycian city noted for its unusual surviving tombs. Its name appears in many inscriptions in the region, and these suggest a history going back to the early 4th century BC. Istlada was part of the Lycian League, and after the Lycian period it was settled in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. Its remains are spread across Kapaklı, Hoyran and Hayıtlı in Demre district. Like Apollonia, Aperlai, Phellos and Isinda, Istlada takes the form of a small walled stronghold. Walls run east and west from the acropolis and end near the eastern end at a gate into the fortress, with the remains of a structure just west of the gate that was built to control it. Its main monument is the relief tomb at Kapaklı called the Hoyran Monument, a house-type tomb carved from the bedrock. Its pediment shows the tomb owner with his wife and son, and its frieze shows him reclining on a couch with soldiers at his feet and members of his family attending a ceremony. Sphinxes decorate the corner ornaments. Its Lycian inscription and reliefs date it to the 4th century BC. The ground east and north of the acropolis is filled with rock tombs, sarcophagi and stele tombs, all of local limestone. The rock tombs date from the Classical period and the sarcophagi from the Roman period. A rock tomb with bird carvings, the tomb with the rooster and doves, is one of the oldest, from the early 4th century BC. From the summit there is a view south to Gökkaya Bay, thought to have been the port of Istlada. The site is among the Ancient Cities of Lycian Civilisation proposed for the World Heritage List in 2009.