Patara is one of the oldest and most important ancient cities of Lycia, as I have already known by the Hittites as Patar. Patara was the birthplace of Apollo, have their mother Leto, on the run from the island of Delos and Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, the father of the twins Artemis and Apollo, said that in fact, they would birth of Patara given. The city was the oracle of Apollo only kept open in winter (in summer, the oracle was held in Delos) famous. Patara was the main port of Lycia (now a swamp) and it was saved from destruction by opening its gates to Alexander the Great. During the Hellenistic period, it was a naval base in turn by Antigonus in 315 BC, the Ptolemies (under their rule, and for a short while Patara was renamed Arsinoe by Ptolemy II wife), and Antiochus III in 190 BC used. The saying “Caput Gentis” or “the ancestral capital” expressed by Livy, Roman admiral to describe Patara shows that all other cities outshoned. Patara was a three – voting right in the Lycian League. It became the juridical seat of the Roman governor, who in a port, from where the Roman fleet maintained contacts with the eastern provinces. Plants were also stored here and kept there for transport to Rome. During this period, Patara was the capital of both Lycian and Pamphylian provinces. From there went to St Paul Phoenicia. Patara, where St. Nicholas was born, was a Christian center. Over this period the port of Patara was totally bogged down and lost the city of growing importance. Since then the site was gradually covered with sand dunes. Turkish prof. Fahri Isik and his team of Akdeniz University, have tried to dig up the city from the sand.

Among the most important remains are:
The Lycian necropolis with sarcophagi and Roman tombs.
The Harbor Church, the remains from the water.
The triumphal arch, or monumental gate, which was the entrance to the city, was built in 100 AD by the Roman governor Mettius Modestus. At the same time, this sheet was developed as part of an aqueduct which brought water to Patara.
The Roman Baths Date, the name by which date palms in the neighborhood had a floor decorated with mosaics.
The road sign shows the distances between the Lycian cities, was ordered by Emperor Claudius. It is the world’s oldest and most comprehensive road sign.
Vespasian, the baths are located behind a church and beside the grave of Marcian.
The Main Avenue, 12.5 m / 41 m wide, was the largest avenue in ancient Anatolian cities. Today it is partially flooded.
The Central Baths are located at the eastern end of the avenue.
The walls of the Byzantine fortress and a Corinthian temple outside.
The theater, built in 147 AD, still shows traces of sand, under which she was half buried.
The Ecclesterium Anatolia was the largest administrative building.
The cistern, located at the top of the hill behind the theater was hewn into the rock.Nearby is a part of the walls of the harbor lighthouse.
Hadrian’s granery (granarium) can be seen in a swamp next to the harbor.
The temple grave graves and other monuments of various sizes.
A large bust of Apollo, discovered on the hill above the city gate, points to the existence of a temple of Apollo, which has not yet been located.

Patara, which is an ideal place to spend a holiday away from the crowds, has a superb sandy beach that stretches to 22 km / 14 miles, which allows the practice of sports such as surfing on sand.