Lycia | Ferrell's Travel Blog

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Xanathos in Lycia

Posted on January 31, 2013 | Leave a comment

The photo I am sharing today was made at ancient Xanthos, a city of Lycia, now in southwestern Turkey. The city is situated in the Lycian mountains a few miles from the Mediterranean coast and the ancient city of Patara (Acts 21:1). The small town of Kinik lies in the valley below Xanthos.

Emperor Vespasian. BM. Photo by F. Jenkins

A road runs up the hill through the ancient ruins. One of the first monuments we come to is a Roman arch dedicated to the emperor Vespasian (A.D. 69-79) by the Council and People of Xanthos. George E. Bean says,

The pavement which survives in part belongs to an ancient road which led up from Patara and the Letoum. – Lycian Turkey, 60.

Our view is made from above the arch. To the left you can see the narrow modern road leading to the parking lot at Xanthos.

Arch built by Vespasian partially below modern road level. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

This photo illustrates the build up of debris over the centuries.

Writers such as Bean tell of the time when the Persians conquered western Asia about 540 B.C. Rather than surrender, the fighting men of Xanathos placed their women, children, slaves, and property on the acropolis and set fire to it. These men then went forth and fought to the death. This account reminds us of the one recorded by Josephus about the fall of Masada during the Jewish Wars against the Romans (The Jewish War 7.8.6).

For more information about Xanathos, and Lycia in general, see the nice Lycian Turkey website here.

Christmas, St. Nicholas, and Myra

Posted on December 3, 2007 | 7 comments

Christmas is approaching. I would like to call your attention to an article I have written about Christmas. You may read it here. A more detailed outline, The Truth About Christmas, giving both biblical and historical information is available in PDF at BibleWorld.com. You are welcome to duplicate these articles for your own use. Please do not make changes in them.

Even by the end of the first century the church was beginning to move away from the apostolic pattern. One of the earliest departures was in church government. Instead of each church having a plurality of elders (bishops, overseers, pastors) (Acts 14:23; Philippians 1:1), it became popular to elevate one man to the position of Bishop over the elders.

In the fourth century there was a bishop at Myra, by the name of Nicholas, who was benevolent to those in need. From this historical person there arose the legend of Saint Nicholas, eventually Santa Claus.

Myra was a town of Lycia about 85 miles from Antalya, Turkey (biblical Attalia, Acts 14:25). The town is located a few miles away from the Mediterranean, but has a port. When Paul was being escorted by a Roman centurion from Caesarea Maritima to Rome, the ship sailed along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, and landed at Myra in Lycia (Acts 27:5). There they found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy.

Whether Paul was close enough to see any of Myra we do not know. There are several interesting things that could have been seen. I have only visited Myra once, in 1987. I mention this to say that it was before the days of digital photos. Here is a photo of the house-type tombs in the cliffs at Myra dating from the 4th century B.C.

The theater at Myra dates from the 2nd century B.C., and had a capacity of 10,000 spectators. The following photo comes from the Wikipedia entry on Myra.