Phaselis was an important Greek and Roman harbour city on the coast of ancient Lycia, the area we are exploring at the moment. It was founded by the Rhodians (from the Greek island Rhodes) in 700 BC. Because of its location on an isthmus separating two harbours, it became the most important harbour city of eastern Lycia and an important centre of commerce between Greece, Asia, Egypt, and Phoenicia.
A 24 metres wide road connects the north harbour with the south harbour, with all the important buildings like agoras, bath and theatre along this road. The pavement for pedestrians was once covered with mosaics. In the south the remains of the Hadrian gate marks the entrance to the city.
Just one bay further north of Phaselis, we spent the night at the beach. The next day we walked from there along the Lycian Way (or Likya Yolu), a long-distance trail along the coast of ancient Lycia, until we reached Phaselis again.
We had two nice days around Phaselis. We also wanted to take the gondola up to Mount Olympos, but the weather had changed before we made it there and the mountain was covered in clouds. We will travel further along the coast, hoping for good weather again. More on our next post!