The Ham Nomads

2 Jun 2015. <TR> Kumluca; Demre (Ancient Myra); Finike —

A bit of backtracking today, to Demre, the site of ancient Myra, one of the six most important cities of the Lycian League. No important information about the city can be found in literary sources prior to the first century BC. Myran coinage dates back to the third century BC, but archaeology and the tombs (see below) suggest it is at least two centuries older than that!

Myra was well favoured by Rome, and was also important as a religious and administrative centre under Byzantine rule, particularly in the fourth and fifth centuries. It was the capital of Lycia during the reign of Theodosius II (402-450 AD), and was the place that St Nicholas lived and established his bishopric in the early fourth century. The city fell into decline following Arab raids in the seventh century, and was extensively damaged when the river Myros flooded. Now most of the city lies beneath a mound of rubble.

Today the three major 'attractions' here are the Roman theatre, which is in remarkably good condition, the necropolis with its tombs carved into the rocky hillside, and the Church of St Nicholas, which was constructed in the eighth century on the site of an earlier sixth century church.

This church (now a museum) contains what some claim to be the unopened sarcophagus of St Nicholas himself. As St Nicholas is particularly venerated in Russia (he is celebrated virtually every Thursday, along with the Apostles), this is a major pilgrimage destination for members of the Russian Orthodox Church. This is obvious in that here for the first time in Turkey, we found that virtually all the signage was in Russian — often not in Turkish or English at all.

Anyway, the tombs. These are incredible, being carved into the solid rock of the hillside. They emulate the forms of the wooden buildings of the day, and date back to the end of the fifth or the baginning of the fourth century BC. They were in continuous use, perhaps even into the Byzantine period, with older interments being removed and replaced by later ones.

And the Theatre, situated below and between the two major necropolis sites, This is in amazingly good condition, with most of the upper section of seating still intact. The stage area (the skena) is all but gone, however.

But now the Church of Saint Nicholas. This museum (as it is now) is a fascinating site. The souvenir vendors outside (and, indeed, outside the Myra tombs site) tout their goods in fluent Russian! There are icon shops all over the place.

Inside the Church everything is presented virtually as found, but the whole place has been enclosed in a protective building, so there is no danger of further weathering. As nobody really knows which tomb actually held the saint, there is a lot of laying of icons upon and kissing of the one sarcophagus easily accessible, and the other (that the audio guide claims is actually his resting place, and which is protected by a glass screen) has people throwing folded pieces of paper in onto it, presumably bearing prayers and invocations to the saint.

The frescoes in the church are in surprisingly good condition, considering that the church has been frequently plagued by both Arab and Christian attacks. Also, the superb floor mosaics are still basically intact.

This anchor-cross relief is the best evidence
for St Nicholas as the protector saint for sailors

Saint Nicholas himself is the archetype of Santa Claus. The tradition of his bringing joy to children has developed from his secretly throwing three bags of gold into the houses of poor residents of Myra who were unable to provide dowries so their daughters could marry. We saw three statues near the museum — called Noel Baba Müsesi, or 'Father Christmas Museum' — each depicting the saint in a different way. One portrays the bishop much as he might have been, one is a version of the traditional Santa Claus, and the third has him dressed as a seaman, in the company of two delighted children. This last conveys his role as the bringer of joy to children, but also his place as the protector saint for sailors.

This may be just fanciful imagination, but in the apse of the church, behind where the altar may have been, is a structure that is strongly reminiscent of the seating area of the Bouleuterion, the council chamber, of an ancient Greek city.

As we left the museum, we saw a huge Christmas store directly opposite. They really have made Father Christmas an industry in this town! And this is the home of the St Nicholas Icon Centre, which caters almost exclusively to Russian pilgrims.

Finally leaving Demre, as we were driving out, we were amazed at the proliferation of political bunting throughout the town!

We drove through Finike and came to the beach-side areas we had noticed before, and marked as potential camping spots. So, guess what — we camped there! As we arrived, we noticed a helicopter landing in the open area 'next door', meeting an ambulance that we had seen a few minutes earlier struggling to make its way through the Turkish traffic. There was an medevac taking place.

We had a beautiful onshore breeze to keep us cool, a magnificent gum tree to keep us shaded, and the moon over the sea at night was just magic.

Distance driven — today, 67 miles ( 107 km ); to date, 21,305 miles ( 34,287 km )