About Arykanda
Near Arif village, Arykanda is a Lycian mountain city laid out on stepped terraces for its theatre, stadium, baths and agora. The changes in level between buildings show how a steep slope was organised into a coherent urban plan.
History
Arykanda's name has Lycian origins, and its settlement history predates the Classical period. Part of the Lycian political world, it expanded across terraces in Hellenistic times. Baths, a gymnasium, theatre and houses developed under Rome, supported by an elaborate water-distribution system. Inscriptions document festivals and the role of local benefactors in public life. It became a bishopric in late antiquity, before gradually contracting amid earthquakes and changing regional conditions.
Highlights and principal structures
- Theatre
- Stadium
- Agora and odeon
- Large and small baths
- Gymnasium
- Necropolis and funerary monuments
- Terrace houses
Historical period
Classical–Roman–Byzantine