Sidyma

On the way to Kaş, after driving 17 kilometers beyond the Esen junction, you’ll come to the village of Dodurga. If you continue on this road, you will reach the ruins of Sidyma in the village’s Asar district. Sidyma is located 55 kilometers from Fethiye. There isn’t much information available on the early years of the city, but it is known that the city developed significantly during Roman times, and this progress also continued during the Byzantine era. The Emperor Marcian was responsible for this development in the Roman era. Marcian (450-457), before he became emperor, became ill during a fight against the Persians and he was left in Sidyma. Here, he became the guest of two Sidymian brothers. After he recovered from his illness, one of the brothers asked him what he would do for them if he became the emperor. Marcian responded, “If this unimaginable thing happens, I would make you two the leading people of your city.”

Marcian came to throne after the death of Theodosius II, and he kept his promise; he showed attention to Sidyma and raised these two brothers to high positions.

The acropolis on the northern side of the village is formed by two sections. A 365-meter long wall which reaches three meters at some parts stretches on the southeast outskirts of the village. This wall is evidence that Sidyma existed very early. The east end of this wall is built like a polygon, and there is a gate and a watchtower here. A little farther away from this point, you can visit a theater which was built at a later time. Six rows of theater are still visible. Other remains of theater are buried beneath the ground. The wall was used in later years and you can see plaster-applied parts of the wall and towers built in these later years. Inside the acropolis, there isn’t much left except for a few cistern ruins. The main ruins are located in the northern skirt of this valley. There is a tomb built nine meters high in the southwest of Sidyma and this tomb was used several times in different eras.

In the village center, there is a stoa and its columns still stand on their original spots. Based on a number of inscriptions on it (epitaphs), this structure was built in the time of the Emperor Claudius (41-54) and it was presented to him as a gift. On the south part of the stoa, there is an agora which today is a flat area and on its north, there is a nine-meter long temple built also in Claudius' time. Some of the columns on the northern part of the temple still stand erect today. This temple was dedicated to the emperors and the goddess Artemis. Due to some village houses built on top of the ruins, some of these ruins can hardly be seen.

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.