Old names: Tlawa, Dalawa
If you visit the Saklıkent Gorge on a tour or with your own car you can easily combine the trip with a run around the remains of Tlos, one of the oldest – and most dramatically sited – of the ancient Lycian cities. The town was created around a huge rock and its summit is topped off with the ruins of a late Ottoman fort. This once belonged to Kanlı (Bloody) Ali Ağa who, in an early example of an honour killing, is rumoured to have murdered his own daughter to protect his family’s reputation in the 19th century.
The most obvious relics of the Lycian city are a collection of rock-cut tombs of a type also to be seen in Myra, Xanthos and other coastal towns that hug the base of the rock. The most interesting is out on a limb but bears a carving of the Greek hero Bellerophon riding the winged horse Pegasus, hence its name, the Tomb of Bellerophon. On the slopes beneath the ruins of the castle freestanding Lycian sarcophagus of the type to be seen at Kaş and Simena are also visible.
But there is much more to Tlos than just the rock. At the foot of it immediately behind the ticket office much of the Roman stadium survives intact. If you walk across it you will come to substantial standing remains of a bathhouse, as well as lesser remains of a temple and a Byzantine church complete with narthex.
Across the road the Roman theatre also survives almost intact. In 2024 it was being restored with a view to reopening it for cultural activities in 2025.
Eating
There are a couple of small cafes across the road from the ruins but the most interesting place to eat locally is a short drive back downhill in the village of Yakaköy (Yaka) where a large restaurant offers trout meals in a range of kiosks amid waterfalls and pools.
Its unique selling point is a bar with trout swimming around the edge so that you can tickle them. Frankly, this seems pretty unkind. When I last visited one of the fish was clearly injured, probably by an over-zealous tickler.
Sleeping
One of the best bases for a visit to Tlos is the Tlos Mountain Lodge in Yaka. It has something of the air of a country house in England about it. Tel: 0252-638 2515
Transport info
Tours from Fethiye, Kaş and Kalkan include Tlos on tours and jeep safaris that take in the Saklıkent Gorge.
You can also get here by dolmuş from Fethiye’s Köy Garaj.
