Olympos, Turkey

Olympos is located in a narrow canyon in which the river meets the sea at what was a Roman Seaport. On a mountain above flames come out of fissures in the rock. This flame ,visible at sea, guided ships and is thought to be the origin of the Greek myth of the Chimera,the fire breathing monster with a lions head,a goats body and a serpent's tail. I got up before six to walk to the beach. It's amazing to walk along the stream through a pine forest and see all these ruins with columns, bricks, and other objects lying everywhere. This part of path along the stream is made from carved blocks from the ruins.

Ruins of Roman Seaport, Olympos

The river has now silted up what once was a Roman seaport, there are numerous buildings behind along with over 350 tombs. On the other side of the river there is a Roman Temple, a church from Roman times, and a building with a mosaic floor. There are the ruins of a roman fort that went up the hill.

Ruins being uncovered

Ruins of Roman Fort on Beach

Door in Roman Temple, Olympos

Roman Tomb, Olympos

On this side of river there are over three hundred and fifty tombs, some are carved into the mountain and some built up or a combination of both methods. Like this one, many had sliding doors. here you can see the track for the approximately four inch thick door. Some have two tracks with two doors.

Entrance to Theater, Olympos

Sarcophagus, Olympos

There are many sarcophagus in the woods around Olympos. From the inscriptions we know a lot about those who were buried there in Roman times.

Roman Ruins, Olympos

Roman Fort, Olympos