Xanthos and Letoon ready for visitors

ISTANBUL

The Culture and Tourism Ministry has announced that the ancient city of Xanthos, located near the village of Kınık in Fethiye, southwest Turkey, will be ready to welcome visitors in 2018 after recovery works. The neighboring ancient city of Letoon will also once again be ready to host visitors next month.

According to a written statement by the ministry, works have been accelerated in ancient cities all around the county.

Among the most important centers in the ancient era, Xanthos and Letoon are expected to host more visitors with newly built reception centers and renewed façades.

It is hoped that the reception centers will offer tourists an easier and more enjoyable visit to the ancient cities. In addition, new cine-vision halls, car parking places, markets, cafés, souvenir shops and walking routes are also being added to the sites.

Works at Letoon have reportedly cost a total of 2.8 million Turkish Liras, while works at Xanthos have cost 4.3 million liras.

The neighboring ancient sites of Xanthos and Letoon were together registered as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO back in 1988.

Excavations of Xanthos have been ongoing since 1950. The excavations were for many years conducted by the French Archeology Institute before being taken over by a Turkish archeology team in 2010.

Xanthos was the capital of the Lycian Union during the Archaic and classical eras. It is famous for its heroic resistance against the attacks of the Persians and the Romans, and it is one of the ancient sites in Turkey with the longest ongoing excavation works. The first findings in the ancient city date back to 2,800 years ago.

Letoon, the religious center of the Lycian civilization, is home to temples built in the name of Leto, Apollo and Artemis. It also features the ruins of a Roman theater and a historic fountain.