Day 2 and the hunt for the ancient ruins of Turkey continues. I decided to drive 100km south of Denizli to the ancient Greek city, here in Turkey, known as Kibyra. And wow! How come not too many know about it? Apparently the tour buses don’t really go there… yet. Luckily I had a car. Kibyra is definitely worth the detour and stop! And it only cost 1 Euro to get in!
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Kibyra – the ancient Greek city
Sitting on top of the hills, approx 1300m altitude, in the Burdur province of Turkey, this archaeological UNESCO site is massive and impressive. I spent almost two hours there, walking up and down the hills. Also I had the entire city to myself, with no tourists around. I could (and did) basically enjoy this amazing ancient greek city for as long as I wanted. And walk around freely (not on designated paths as on other sites)!
You can read the history here (if you like), however what I found fascinating, is the fact, that even though it was first marked as a site back in 1842, the large scale excavation and restoration didn’t start until 2006. Even though parts has been done in 1988 and then again in 2001/2. And there is still more to go! Only last year, in 2021, archeologists found 30 graves in the basilica church. Amazing!
Originally I thought I would write about Kibyra together with the ancient city Aphrodisias, as I did see them on the same day. However, I have soo many great photos of ancient Kibyra, I thought it deserved a blog by itself.
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The Stadion of Kibyra
Imagine someone sitting on the seat I sat in (see photo), on top of the Stadion, overlooking the athletes as well as the amazing view. Stunning! Apparently it is among the largest ‚stadia‘ found in Anatolia. Of coure I had to do a run! Last time I ran in an ancient Stadion was in Greece, at Olympia, back in 2018! (Read my blog here).
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Given the overall size of Kibyra – the amazing ancient Greek city – make sure you wear comfortable shoes (I guess it‘s the same with all the sites). It is a big area to cover by foot but you won’t be disappointed.
It is a shame I did’t get to see the Medusa mosaic floor at the bottom of the theatre. Apparently it is stunning. It is covered for protection most of the year and only opened to the public three months in the year. During summer. Bummer! Maybe I get to see it next time! Here is an image of the mosaic.
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Kibyra is a stunning spot to see. Hopefully someone will continue the excavations further, restoring more of the architecture. But who puts all the pieces together? And how long would it take? The ancient stones are literally everywhere!! And who knows what else is hidden underground?! Soo many more pieces to be found! I find this aspect of the scattered ruins as interesting as the sites already exposed. It is certainly a big project.
So, as a final summary, if you can make it to Kibyra, the amazing ancient Greek city of Turkey, I would certainly do it. You could do a trip from Fethiye or maybe from Antalya as well. Because you can’t explore Turkey without visiting Antalya. And I will be there soon!! xx
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