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.
