The Bellerophon tomb
A rock-cut tomb with a temple facade and, on its porch wall, a worn relief of the hero on his winged horse Pegasus, a Greek myth on a Lycian grave.
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On a rock spur high above the Xanthos valley sits a city that outlived whole empires: Hittite tablets named it Dalawa more than three thousand years ago, it sat among the six great cities of the Lycian League, and it was still inhabited in the nineteenth century, when a local strongman known as Kanlı Ali Ağa (Bloody Ali) built his Ottoman fortress on top of the ancient walls. Tlos is not the ruin of one age but of many stacked on each other, which is exactly what makes it more than a quick archaeological stop. The first thing you meet is a cliff face studded with Lycian rock tombs carved to look like temple fronts. The famous one is the Bellerophon tomb, with the hero riding his winged horse Pegasus carved on the wall of its porch; you will have to look hard because the relief has worn soft, but the idea is still remarkable, a Greek myth chiselled onto a grave in the Anatolian mountains. Then climb to the Ottoman fortress on the summit, because the view over the plain and the mountains is easily the best thing here. Below, across the road, are a large Roman theatre, a stadium lined with a long pool, baths and a Byzantine church; some of these may be fenced off, since Akdeniz University has been excavating continuously since 2005. From Fethiye it is a driving trip in practice: roughly 40 km via Seydikemer, 40 to 50 minutes, with no regular bus to the site itself, so the alternatives are a taxi or one of the organised day tours that bundle Tlos with Saklıkent gorge and Yaka Park. The ground is rough and stony and the climb to the fortress is steep in places, so it is no place for a pushchair or for anyone who walks with difficulty, though older children who like scrambling will enjoy it. There is almost no shade, and in July and August anything after ten in the morning becomes genuinely punishing, so make it the first stop of the day and then drop down to the riverside trout restaurants at Yaka Park. Is it worth the trip? Yes, if you have more than two days in Fethiye and want something other than the beach; it is far quieter than Xanthos or Patara and you will rarely find a crowd. If Roman ruins leave you cold, though, the rock tombs in Fethiye town give you the idea in half an hour.
A rock-cut tomb with a temple facade and, on its porch wall, a worn relief of the hero on his winged horse Pegasus, a Greek myth on a Lycian grave.
A nineteenth-century Ottoman stronghold built over the Lycian walls, with the best view in the whole site across the Xanthos valley.
A big theatre across the road and a stadium with a long pool running beside it, evidence of how the city flourished under Rome.
Yaka village, Seydikemer, Muğla
Tlos has the finer setting and more variety thanks to the fortress, the tombs and the view, and it is far less crowded. Xanthos matters more historically but is less striking to the eye, while Patara pairs its ruins with a long beach. With only one day, combine Tlos with Saklıkent gorge in a single trip.
With children of six or seven and up, yes; they enjoy the scramble to the fortress. A pushchair is hopeless on the stony ground, and in August go at opening time and finish before the heat sets in.
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