Phaselis, the ancient Lycian city, is engraved on the minds and hearts of visitors with its pure beauty and unique nature in the Kemer district of Tekirova and is one of the numerous ancient cities in Antalya.
The Rhodians founded the settlement around 700 BC. Despite not being a member of the Lycian League, it became the most significant harbor city in eastern Lycia and an important trade center between Greece, Asia, Egypt, and Phoenicia due to its location on an isthmus between two harbors.
Throughout its existence, Phaselis has changed hands several times. Persia controlled the city on many occasions before being liberated by Athens in 469BC, despite the wishes of the local people who liked the Persian authority. After ending up in the hands of the Persians once more, Alexander the Great captured Phaselis in 334 BC. Phaselis joined the Lycian League in the second century BC but was attacked by pirates. Phaselis, on the other hand, had been reduced to a ghost of its former glory by that time.
The city was rebuilt during Roman administration and continued to expand and prosper throughout the Byzantine period, lasting many hundred years. Emperor Hadrian visited the city in 129 AD, and numerous monuments were constructed in his honor. Phaselis, like most of the region, suffered during the 7th and 8th centuries as a result of the period's instability and numerous invasions by Arab forces. After earthquakes ravaged the region, the struggling city was finally abandoned in the 13th century AD.
Today, the magnificent backdrop and vast pine trees threaten to cast a pall over what remains of the ruins. The Roman aqueduct, which runs beside the bay at the north port, is one of the best surviving monument relics on the site. Another feature is the city's main avenue, a lovely ten-meter-wide thoroughfare that stretches for quite a distance.
There are also some lovely mosaics in the Roman public baths, as well as a basilica from the 6th-century Byzantine period. The large plaza at the end of the main boulevard still has portions of its original marble covering. Although there is a magnificent beach nearby, the city's major port is completely destroyed. Ships weighing up to 100 tonnes used to dock in this port, which served as a stopover on the vital commerce route connecting Greece and Syria. There is also a theatre from the second century that may have held up to 1,500 people. The Archaeological Site has a small museum that you can visit all year round. It houses a variety of artifacts discovered among the ruins.