The photos in this post are from the site of the ancient Lycian city of Myra. Much there has been leveled by earthquakes over the more than two thousand years since the city was built but it still possesses the bulk of a fine stone amphitheatre and a beautiful collection of rock cut tombs carved out of the cliff face that towers over the site. There are also row upon row of carved stones from other buildings which are no longer standing. The intriguing bas relief faces and decorative motifs on these must have kept a small army of stone carvers busy over many years...
 |
| Carved stone building parts, Myra, Turkey |
 |
| More carved stones from fallen buildings |
 |
| View of Myra's amphitheatre and the cliff with rock cut tombs behind it |
 |
| Stone garland and figures |
 |
| More beautiful decorative stone |
 |
| Amphitheatre entrance |
 |
| A rubble filled stairway in the amphitheatre |
 |
| A bit of "out of character" carving on a building stone--maybe an example of ancient stone carver's graffiti? |
 |
| A fallen lintel in the amphitheatre |
 |
| More decorative carving |
 |
| A tomb entrance |
 |
| Rock cut tombs |
 |
| Another tomb entrance |
 |
| Virtuosity in stone |
 |
| Tombs carved from solid rock in the cliff face more than two thousand years ago |
 | ||||||
| Another entrance to the amphitheatre |
 | ||||||
| Overview of the largest cluster of rupestrian tombs |
 | |||||
| Part of the amphitheatre |
 |
| Some tombs are nearly free standing but still firmly rooted in the rock from which they were carved. |
