Andriake is one of my favorite places to stroll around and the good news it that it is time to go back! Archaeologists have worked very hard over the past four years to clear Andriake’s business area, its harbor structures, baths, churches, and synagogues.
[Picture from the Hurriyet Daily News]
As announced in my article “Andriake’s granary to be turned into a museum”, this building of 56 meters long and 32 meters wide has by now been converted into a Museum of Lycian Civilization where artifacts from all the cities belonging to the Lycian League have found a home. It is evident that the granary needed some restoration and adaptation for this purpose, but it sounds very promising.
At the same time, the Agora and the huge water cistern (24x12m and 6m deep) have been restored. When I visited the place last in the spring of 2010 (see: Andriake, port of Myra), I witnessed the gaping openings of that cistern located underneath the Agora where I watched my steps with some apprehension.
Today a nice walking route has been laid out, at least through the eastern part of the city. Meanwhile, the western side is being cleared from trees and low bushes, and a first archaeological assessment has been made revealing arched structures and the city walls from Roman and Byzantine times.
In order to make the site more appealing, a replica of a Roman ship (16-meters-long) has been moored in the harbor in front of the museum together with a crane to load and unload the goods. The picture from the Hurriyet Daily News looks indeed very inviting.
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