Video: Lycian Tombs: Why the Ancients Built a Necropolis in the Rocks
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Holidays in Turkey are not only all-inclusive hotels and the azure sea. In this country with a rich history, lovers of antiquities will also find something to see. One of the most popular excursions among tourists is a visit to the city of Kaunos, where you can see the Lycian tombs high in the mountains.
A characteristic feature of the Lycian necropolis is that all the tombs are carved into the rocks. Historians find several explanations for this phenomenon. In Turkish culture, there is a belief that the closer a person's burial is to heaven, the easier it is for the soul of the deceased to make its last journey. There is another explanation: it was much easier to carve tombs in the rocks than to build on a vacant lot. The breed is soft and pliable. Moreover, such crypts are not threatened by earthquakes.
The tombs were built in the 5th - 6th centuries. BC, wealthy people could afford such burials. It is believed that the tomb could be equipped during life, choosing the style of its decoration at their own discretion. The more wealthy a person was, the more patterns and decorations were created by master builders. Most likely, many tombs served as family crypts. This is evidenced by the many epitaphs in the Latin alphabet left inside the tombs.
Wealthy people were often buried along with luxury goods. It was believed that these things would help the soul of the deceased in the other world. Over the years, all the tombs were plundered, today only the bed on which the body lay can be seen inside. True, few tourists look inside the tombs. It is not easy to climb to them, the climb takes place along a rope ladder, so most people prefer to inspect the Lycian tombs during a boat trip along the Dalyan River. The opening panoramic view allows you to see the ancient religious buildings in all their beauty.
Another attraction that interests many tourists is the old stone heads on Mount Nemrut-Dag … Historians suggest that these are the remains of the destroyed pantheon of gods, the statues of which were installed at the tomb of King Antiochus I.
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