Cruising in the wake of the ancient civilizations
"The ship sailed into the last harbour and anchored to leave more, As there was no longer any hope from the wind or daylight, After the light carried by the dawn had left Captain Eudemos, There buried the ship whith a life as short as a day, like a broken wave. "
These sentimental lines of poem are engraved on the sarcophagus of Captain Eudemos, that is at the sea mouth of the Olympos Ancient City. These lines show one of the cue of the strong bond, with sea and the folks; which grew on the mediterranean coast of Anatolia.
In this land, which is an important cultural heritage, when a civilization ends, a new one is born and the Mediterranean coast has become an open-air museum.
Thought, with security concerns some of these civilizations have built their cities on rocky high mountains, important cities have always located near the sea and benefited from the abundance of the sea.
These people, who remember the crazy seas, sometimes before the names of their homeland, carry their unique wines, olives and valuable goods from these ports to many places with long routes.
These voyages, which were realized with limited opportunities of the era, brought prosperity to cities and pioneered important military association.
In September 2019, in the rally led by DADD, the important ancient route will be used by amateur sailors, once again.
On this route, we will cross the shores of the Lycian region which means " Land of the Light" .
The region, that starts from the Dalaman River and include also Phaselis near Antalya on the ancient times, today called as Teke Peninsula, contains the most mysterious lands of Anatolia.
This region will be the first stops of the amateur sailors and provide a cultural feast with its, sarcophagus; seemed like leaped out of the sea, tombs; resembling a city carved into the rocks and rich ruins.
Lycians, known fond of their freedom, sometimes appear in the forces, going to help the Trojans in the Trojan War, and sometimes they show their dominance in the maritime with their ships.
This people, who even preferred mass suicides for their dignity and freedom, with their own expression, they have left us, a fire that never unquenchable.
Bahçelievler Mahallesi Albay İbrahim Karaoğlanoğlu Sokak No: 22/5 Bahçelievler /İSTANBUL Telefon: 0(545) 950 32 33 www.denizlerdeyiz.org e-mail: [email protected]
Cause of lying along the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, Lycian region's many points can be visited by sea as well as land, and this will be a great pleasure for the guests of Lycian cities.
When we continue on our way, we can describe shortly, between Antalya-Alanya, we will reach to another unique beauty, known as Pamphylia in the ancient times.
A visual feast is waiting for our sailors, in this region, which has important archaeological sites such as Side, Perge and Aspendos.
On our journey, we are sure that the opportunity to see many of these civilizations, will be as good as sea salt, for sea lovers.
When we look at our map, we will see that our route will fall into the Cilicia Region, which is located in the territory extending to Alanya. The region is referred to as Kizzuwatna in the Hittite archives.
In its long history, the region has the traces of the Urartian, Assyrian and Babylonian Kingdoms and was home of the Lydian State and the Persians who defeated them.
Cyprus, which is located on the opposite shores of the Cilicia Region and has been intertwined for thousands of years, with the cultures that have been mentioned, will constitute another pillar of our route.
St. Nicholas, we all know him as a Santa Claus, was born in one of the ports we will stop on.
On the other hand, Santa has a special place for sailors.
According to his story, St. Nicholas went to Jerusalem to become a pilgrim.
On the way back, he rescues the ship from being steeped in a thunderstorm with his prayers and also resurrects a drowning sailor who falls into the sea.
Since then, St. Nicholas has been accepted as the patron saint of sailors.
Even though it is a pleasant story, Santa Claus will be with us, on the route to Lycia, Pamphylia and Cilicia, will give us strength.
We wish everyone a good sail, bon voyage...
İlhan Akşit Archeologist
Bahçelievler Mahallesi Albay İbrahim Karaoğlanoğlu Sokak No: 22/5 Bahçelievler /İSTANBUL Telefon: 0(545) 950 32 33 www.denizlerdeyiz.org e-mail: [email protected]