The Gulet Boat Adventures and More: Part Sixteen

The Gulet Boat Adventures and More: Part Sixteen September 16, 2014

No visit to Myra would be complete without a trip to the jaw-dropping site of ancient Myra, another Lykian city with rock cut tombs, only this time, they are carved into the same mountain as the theater! I wonder if they expected the dead to watch the theater performances.

As you first come into the site, the first thing that grabs your attention is the huge representations of comedy and tragedy, carved in stone.


The next thing that catches your eye is not the theater, but rather the huge array of rock cut tombs all over the face of the mountain that juts up right behind the theater. This major necropolis makes the one in Fethiye look miniscule by comparison.

The net effect of these two things– huge tombs mainly on the left, and an even bigger mountain towering directly behind the whole theater is that even though the theater is very large indeed, as we shall see, it is simply dwarfed by its surroundings. For example, look at this angled shot, and notice the enormous gates that lead up to the higher seats. Notice the ant like creatures (i.e. people) climbing the steps up to the gate on the left, which stands easily 50 feet high or more.

Once you do climb up the stairs and are in the theater you can see just how large and impressive it is…

Even straight on from a slight distance it is impressive.

You also get a clear impression of the size and scope of the theater by looking through the ground level gates..

Or consider the view from below, up the stairs to the nose-bleed seats…

Notice the hole in about the fifth step up from the bottom. That’s for drainage. They thought of everything. Here below are the box seats for the dignitaries who sat down front in the dolphin level seats (no this is not Sea World)— note the handles on the seats…

The regular seats are just benches, and notice the knobs under the seats. They helped facilitate the moving and positioning of these heavy rows of seats.

The scenae had two levels and there are towering windows over the entrance ramps and behind the stage as well….

Notice the use of several different kinds of stone, some volcanic (basalt) some not. This whole country is earthquake territory, and many major cities were destroyed by it.

This place once had a grandeur to it, notice this enormous decorated capital…

I suppose if the play was boring one could always look around above the edge of the theater and think— ‘it could be worse, I could be in there’.

I’m willing to bet they did not perform Aeschylus’ play ‘The Spirit Raisers’ the ancient equivalent of ‘Night of the Living Dead’. I’d also be willing to bet pious Jews wouldn’t come anywhere near this place, considering: 1) the way they viewed corpse uncleanness, and 2) the way they viewed the celebration of pagan deities. But then, there would have been Hellenized Jews who wouldn’t care much about these things if it meant maintaining good business contacts and friendships through an evening at the theater. If only these impressive stones could talk…. what tales they would tell.


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