Photo: Itai · Public domain
Kekova’s sheltered fishing harbour, its tombs woven between village houses.
Just east of Üçağız village, the necropolis of Teimiussa spreads across the rocky shoreline. Dozens of Lycian sarcophagi gaze out to sea among olive trees and boulders, some standing right at the water’s edge. Rock-cut tombs, a small fort and traces of a landing stage can also be spotted. It makes a short, rewarding walk before or after a Kekova boat trip.
Teimiussa was a small harbour settlement inhabited from around the 5th century BC into the Byzantine period. Inscriptions suggest it was not an independent city but a village belonging to the territory of larger centres such as Kyaneai. Even so, the richness of its tombs points to prosperous families who profited from trade through the harbour. Its modern name, Üçağız, means “three mouths”, referring to the three passages from the bay to the open sea.
Photo: Saffron Blaze · CC BY-SA 3.0Rock-cut tombs, a Roman theatre and the Church of St Nicholas, the original Santa Claus.
Photo: rheins · CC BY 3.0In central Kaş, a Hellenistic theatre for about 4,000 facing Kastellorizo.
Photo: Alexkom000 · CC BY 4.0A silent mountain city 850 metres above Kaş.