Istlada

Istlada is a small but a fascinating ancient city in the Perlin region. You can get to Islada from the village of Davazlar along the Finike-Kaş highway. A four-kilometer-long road which branches to the east takes you from the village of Kapakli to tombs in the Hoykan area. Here stands the Hoyran Monument in all its magnificence situated across from a primary school. The monument is dated to the fourth century B.C..

The sad-looking monument which rests in the shadow of trees was made into a house-type tomb by carving from a rock. The tomb has a round top and in its pediment, there are pictures of three people standing. On the wide frieze below, there is a picture of a man lying on a stretcher. In front of this figure, there is a table and four armed men. Behind it, there are two men and two women. You will notice an inscription written on the door, which has been mostly obscured over time.

On the eastern and northern sides of the rock tombs, you can see sarcophagi, tombs made in stelo style, and water tanks. All these tombs were made in Roman times. Behind these sarcophagi, there is a house-type tomb called the Guvercinli Mezar (Tomb with Pigeons) carved into the rock. The tomb is decorated with rooster, sphinx and pigeon figures and these are still visible today. On the northern side of the tomb, there is a frieze decorated with depictions of the owners of the tomb and their relatives. The tomb was built in the ninth century B.C.

There are other remains below this area called Hoyran. You can only drive there from the Kekova road. Two kilometers before Üçağiz, if you take the road that goes from Çevreli to Kapakli, after driving for 1.5 kilometers, you will see a magnificent Lycian tomb carved on a rock in the place called Bucak. This tomb dated to the fourth century B.C. has two figures sitting on top of it.

If you continue driving from here, before you reach Kapakli, you will see more ruins in the seaside area of a place called Enişdibi. If you follow the dirt road, this will take you to several interesting ruins called Hayitli along Gökkaya Bay. The sarcophagi here are built among other architectural structures and the houses have survived to our day, including their foundation stones.

Next to these structures, you will see the apse of a church. This will give you the chance to see works from the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods all in a single place.

Istlada on Gökkaya Bay is connected to the parts in Hoyran where there are sarcophagi. It is very easy to climb from Gökkaya Bay to this point. You can reach here by climbing next to the church remains in the bay.

İlhan Aksit's book "Işık Ulkesi Lycia" (Lycia, Country of Light) and web site of Ministry of Culture & Tourism was used as a source for this webpage.