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About Demre

From Ancient Times To The Present Days

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About Demre

From Ancient Times To The Present

Demre (Former name, Kale) is one of the touristic districts of Antalya province. Myra (Demre) has always been known as one of the most important cities of Lycia. The earliest coins are dated to the 3rd century BC. But it is estimated that the city was founded at least in the 5th century BC. During the Roman rule, the developed and wealthy citizens of Myra generously contributed money to civil projects. Before you leave Port Andriake for Pol Rome, M.S. He visited the city in the 6th century. During the Byzantine period, Myra became an important administrative and religious center. In Myra, which is also the center of the diocese, St. Nicholas IV. He served as Bishop at the beginning of the century; He made people love him and suffered a lot for the sake of his faith. Since then, Myra has always been a place where it was built with a cross. In this respect, Demre has attracted the attention of the Christian World in all respects. It has become traditional to hold Santa Claus events on December 6 every year. Today, we cannot see most of the ruins expected from an important city like Myra in Demre. The remains of Lycia's largest theater are still standing today, and it is also the best preserved theater of Lycia. The theater with 29 rows of seats and a capacity of 9-10 thousand spectators is leaning on the hill. Even today it is sometimes used for festivals and games.

Myra metropolitan contains important examples of various types of Lycian tombs. The theater was divided into two as the eastern and western metropolis and was built on a rocky hill rising behind Myra. The rocks were carved and the tombs were decorated with reliefs and inscriptions. Another important relic is St. Nicholas church. The church today is 7 m. below ground level. st. Nicholaus bones were found in a marble tomb inside the church. But some bones were stolen by the Italians and smuggled to Bari. A Russian Prince had the Church restored in 1862, and St. Nicholas is considered very holy in Russia. The Russians replaced the dome with a medicine vault by adding a church bell. St. Nicholas' children is the patron saint of sailors and hard laborers. As it is known, he is the Santa Claus of all the children of the world. Demre, which gained the status of a village for the first time in 1904 under the name of Eynihal; With the merger of 4 neighborhoods on June 6, 1968; On July 4, 1987, it became a district with the name Kale. The district was renamed Demre in 2005.

The district is a tourism resort due to its historical background and geographical location. The historical Santa Claus Church, Myra Ancient City and Theatre, Andreake Ancient City, Rock Tombs, Simena Ancient City are attractions for tourism in the district. The Kekova Islands are a lucky settlement in terms of tourism, both geographically and with the clean sea and climate of the Sunken City. Despite all these features of the district, it cannot be said that it benefits from tourism sufficiently. The reason for this is that the service sector has not developed due to the difficulty of transportation and the scarcity of accommodation facilities.