The minibus drops us at the foot of the aqueduct
further inland. My vision of an aqueduct is the typical Roman concept of arched
vaults spanning the entire valley, connecting one side to the other, but this
one surprisingly looks more like a dam. Our path runs alongside a sophisticated
water channel cutting like a stone trough in the hillside and a little further
on we see the petrified silt still sticking to the inner walls. We then reach
the level where the aqueduct crosses the valley atop of a solid stone wall that
from a distance looks like a barrage. At the top of the wall, the square
mass-produced stone blocks line up like soldiers in a close row. In the center
of these blocks measuring 90 x 90
cm runs a round pipe with on one end a male connection
and a female on the other, so the blocks simply click together. Every five
blocks or so there is a plug for maintenance access, and at regular intervals,
the male connector has a higher ridge, so the entire block can be wiggled out
of the row in case of severe clogging. All in all, it is a surprising
construction, and I have never seen anything like it! It was built under Emperor Nero around
50 AD, and according to the inscription on this wall, it has been repaired
under Vespasian, some 12 years later.
As we walk around to the foot of this dam, I can now
see two small gateways held in place by enormous lintels above them that served
as passages for cattle or people. Proceeding further in the direction of Patara,
we keep crossing the winding aqueduct time and again. Part of our path actually
runs right through the water channel, which over the years has lost its top
slabs as they made good reusable building material. We don’t walk the entire
length of 21
kilometers – thank God! – but we can trace the course of
this marvelous construction through the landscape. Very interesting, I must say.
After a couple of hours of treading over these old
paths and passages, the grand city of Patara lays at our feet. The unmistakable theater fills the
middle of the picture. What a view! In the foreground stands a rather narrow
arch, 10 meters
high and 19 meters
long, built in such a way that it aligns with the aqueduct, leading its water
further to the fountains and Nymphaeums in town. It was actually constructed
around 100 AD to honor the first governor-general of Lycia and Pamphylia,
administrator of Patara, C. Trebonius
Proculus Mettius Modestus. The
niches and pedestals that once held statues are empty now but clearly give a
certain grandeur to this imposing three-arched construction that surprisingly
enough shows the same design on both sides.
On the higher
elevation to the west, beyond the swamps at our feet, recent excavations have
revealed a large round tower-like building. This is what is left of an almost
2,000 years old lighthouse. It is believed to be sixty years older than the one
found in Spain which was known as being the oldest in the world and was built
around 60 A .D.
Originally the Patara lighthouse must have stood approximately 16-20 meters high.
At the foot of the mountain, we just came down an
ancient road that leads out of Patara, flanked by sarcophagi for the Patarans – like the Via Appia in
Rome, no less. The sun is setting quickly now, putting Mettius Modestus’ Arch on fire and wrapping the lonely Lycian
sarcophagus uphill in a golden shred.
To make the most of the dwindling light, our bus drops
us at the southern end of Patara that was, and in some parts still is buried
under the sand. The theater for one has been only recently unearted, much to Peter’s
surprise and disappointment. He always felt it very rewarding when climbing the
sand dunes to suddenly find himself in the middle of the theater. That
enchantment is gone now, but instead of sand, we see shiny white stones as if
the theater were built just yesterday. It is of Hellenistic origin with most of
the two-floored skene and the five doors opening to the proscenium still in
place. Around the orchestra the seats have been removed to make place for a
stone wall, meaning that the theater was converted into an arena where wild
animals’ fights could be held. The VIP seats have obviously been removed and
found a new place on the ambulatorium.
It is nearly dark by
now, and we can just decipher the inscription on the sidewall beside the
parados, reading that the theater was built with the contributions of the
people of Patara. Other inscriptions mention that the theater was
rebuilt at the beginning of the 1st century AD and that it needed repair after
the earthquake of 141 AD. An extended annotation indicates that the proscenium
was constructed by a certain Velio
Titionus and that his
daughter, Velia Prouila, provided funds for the statues and the decorations
"in honor of the gods of Augustus and in honor of the gods of Patara city
and in honor of Emperor Antoninus Pius in the year
147 AD". It makes me wonder how emancipated Roman women actually were?
Across from this theater stands a most impressive
building, also very recently resuscitated from the sands. This is the Lycian Counsel –
of all places! The access is barred with iron gates, but one can easily
recognize the Odeon-shaped seating inside flanked by two sturdy entrances under
high vaulted ceilings. The floor is probably covered with mosaics, but I cannot
see them from the outside. I am very much excited to see this important Counsel for
this is where delegates from all over Lycia came together to vote on important
matters. Since the League itself is so much older than the clearly Roman
entrance indicates, I wonder if maybe the central part, i.e. the Odeon-shaped
construction, dates from Lycian times (2nd century BC). I may have been framed
in a Roman concept later on – unless it is standing on old Lycian foundations? I
am curious what future excavations will reveal.
Peter mentions that
the famous Temple of Apollo has not been located yet. Its oracle, it is said,
would rival only with that of Delphi, and the Temple itself equaled the
reputation of the famous temple
of Delos
Turkish archaeologists
are actively digging here right now, so who knows what they’ll come up with? Our
visit is only superficial, just enough to put Patara on
the map, but I am determined to come back one day and investigate this
important site in detail. By now darkness has set in with a crescent moon
looking down on all these centuries past. For us, it is time to drive back to
our gulet.
Our poet has once again written a poem about this unique city:
P A T A R A - a sonnet
The city gate still stands. The aqueduct,
A seam of rubble stitched across the hill.
Goats browse inside the tumbled bathhouse walls.
No splash of water now. No voices heard
Along the marbled street. The theater plays
A scene of drifting sand. The harbor walls
Confront a silted bay. No sailors’ shouts,
No clank of anchor chains, no travelers’ tales.
Above the buried stones a woman calls
Her cows for milking. Low across the marsh
Two herons fly. A mellow sunset breeze
Rustles the reeds. Listen. Perhaps you hear,
Among the scattered, vaulted, empty tombs,
The dry whisper of Lycian ghosts.
John Onley - May 2005
Tonight the crew has the evening off, and we are
dining out for a change. Peter made reservations at Restaurant Belgin, in uptown Kalkan. We
are seated in elegant Ottoman style outside on the roof among richly decorated
cushions and colorful canopies and flowers. I find it difficult to fit my legs
under the low table, and the only way to do so is by taking my shoes off. It is
a most lovely spot but, unfortunately, we are getting colder by the minute and
after the mezes, we move downstairs around a square table under high wooden ceilings.
The food is delicious, but we all agree that Fatuşa’s cooking still wins the
prize! We are all enjoying ourselves very much and time flies; it is midnight
when we return to our bunks.
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