Fethiye to Xanthos and Lettoon
“Hit the rig!” called Captain Pushkarev at 0800, “and squares in order.” The mast captains and their mast teams scurried up the ratlines and out onto the yardarms to begin to loose the gaskets that hold the square sails to the spars, or yards. Back on the decks, they set the lower and upper topsails, the topgallants, the royals, and the mainmast skysail. Then we heard the hanks on the stays as the halyards hauled and up went the inner and outer jibs and the topmast staysails. Lo, we were a sight to behold! And then the wind abruptly died.
We sailed at about a-knot-and-a-half for an hour, but while National Geographic marine archaeologist Bob Hohlfelder gave a riveting talk about his work on the nearby Lycian site of Aperlae, our forward progress stopped and it was time to douse the sails. Fortunately we have the option of diesel, and we lit the engines and made our way to the bustling little harbor of Fethiye.
Today we would visit two Lycian sites from one of the cultures that predated the Greek arrival and are known for their intriguing stone carved tombs and sarcophagi. Of course the Greeks later took over, and then the Romans, who became the Byzantines, yielding to the Selcuk Turks and finally the Ottomans. The entire history of Mediterranean cultures can be told at these sites.
Our first visit was to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Xanthos, known for its Lycian monuments and towered sarcophagi. We saw polygonal walls and ancient alphabet lineages that predated the Greeks, in situ replicas of the Harpes and Nereid monuments (the original long since taken to the British Museum), and the remains of an enormous Byzantine basilica. Underfoot we walked on gravel that had been spread to cover the rich mosaics that lined the ancient streets and agora, but are now protected to prevent theft and vandalism.
We then moved on to the neighboring religious sanctuary of Lettoon, in honor of the goddess Leto, who gave birth to the twin gods Apollo and Artemis on the Cycladic Island of Delos. Leto fled from Delos and settled here in Lycia, and the temples are dedicated to the god of music and light, and the goddess of animals and the hunt. The adjacent theater reminded us that Greek drama emerged from earlier religious rituals at sacred sites such as Lettoon.
Sea Cloud remained docked in Fethiye (ancient Telmessos) until midnight, and Gil Grosvenor led a small group after dinner to the lively fish market, which became an extremely active seafood restaurant site in the evening.
