Kekova

Aperlai: Aperlai is located on the Sicak Peninsula, near the Sicak jetty. A Lycian city, Aperlai's history is known from coins bearing its name that have been discovered and goes back to the 4th or 5th centuries BC Aperlai was the head of the Lycian Confederacy, of which Simena and Apollonia were also members. The city walls begin at the seashore and are fortified with towers at intervals. These walls, with their rectangular and polygonal construction, are from Roman times: Other remains at Aperlai are all from the Byzantine and later periods. The western reaches of the wall are of rectangular construction. There are three gates in this wall, two of which have a plain and the third a blind archway. The southern reaches of the walls are of polygonal construction and in a bad state of repair. This side is reinforced with two towers and it is here that the main gate was located. Outside the walls are typical Lycian sarcophagi from Roman times.

From inscriptions that have been found, we know that the history of the ancient city of Simena goes back to the 4th century BC If we go ashore via the jetty next to the sarcophagus on the seashore and climb the hill behind the houses, we reach the castle of Simena.

This castle was used during the Middle Ages. In the medieval walls of the inner keep are a few blocks of all that remains of an ancient temple. Inside the castle is a small natural theater carved into the rock. This is the smallest of the theaters among the cities of Lycia. West of the theater there are rock tombs here and there. Above the rock tombs is a Roman wall built of dressed stone and located on the wall are late period embrasures thus giving one a glimpse of three eras simultaneously. On the shore are the ruins of public baths whose inscription is still legible and reads "A gift to the emperor Titus made by the people and council of Aperlai as well as by the other cities of the confederation." Looking from the castle towards Ucagiz it becomes clear how beautiful and safe a natural harbor this really is.

Simena (or Kalekoy, its present day name) is only a temporary shelter however. The actual shelter for yachts is Theimussa (Ucagiz), a landlocked bay surrounded by green hills. There is a road overland that leads here. The ruins of the ancient city of Theimussa are located here. Very little is known about the history of the city however. One inscription indicates that its history goes back to the 4'th century BC One sees mostly the ruins of a necropolis here and no city walls or other major structures have been encountered. The oldest sarcophagus is from the 4th century BC and is shaped like a house. Over it is the nude portrait of a young man. The inscription tells us that it belongs to "KIuwanimiye". The work is Roman and a later addition to the sarcophagus.

One may reach Kekova overland from Demre Cayagzi as well as in boats that you can rent at Kas. After leaving Kekova we pass Kiseli Island and Asirli Island and come to Gokkaya Harbor. Gokkaya is a beautiful bay and a fine harbor. On the way is a big sea cave that was used at one time by pirates. From here one comes to Cayagzi, also called Kokar Bay, alongside of which are the ruins of Andraki. There are restaurants and souvenir shops here. From here, one may take a car to Myra, the city of St. Nicholas, which is quite close. This is also a place from which one may visit other Lycian cities such as Isinda at Belenli, Apollonia at Kilincli, Istlada at Kapakli, Kyaenai at Yavu, and Trysa and Sura at Golbasi. The area is also filled with thousands of Lycian sarcophagi lying everywhere.