OLYMPOS

Push back thick vines and centuries-old pine trees to uncover shattered

temples, columns and bathhouses strewn along either side of

Ulupinar Stream, which trickles into

the sea. The pathway opens up for a

few meters to reveal tombs and the

remains of a monumental gateway

before the ruins are lost again. A

crumbling bridge lies on the northern

side. Opposite is a church whose

frescoes are now invisible. It is difficult

to get close to some of the ruins

because much of the woodland area

off the scratchy stone passageway is

a swamp.

Olympos dates from the Hellenistic age and became a major force in

the Lycian League. During this time, the bay of Antalya was under

pressure from pirates, who posed a threat to the interests of the Roman

Empire in the Eastern Mediterranean. As most of the pirates lived

in Olympos, the city aroused interest in Rome. Roman commander

Servilius Iscauricus Vulso captured the pirate chief, Zeniketes, in 78

BC, freeing the area of pirates. By this time, the Romans had lost patience

with Olympos for sheltering the pirates and threw it out of the

League.

The peak of development in Olympos came at the beginning of the

third century. The latter part of that century saw a resurgence of pirate

activity with such extensive looting that the city shrank into a village.

Attempts by the knights of Venice, Genoa and Rhodes to revive

it were short-lived. Control of the Mediterranean Sea had already

passed to the Ottomans and Olympos was abandoned in the mid-15th

century.