Gelemiş Village: Patara’s History and Nature

Gelemiş Village brings together the history of the ancient city of Patara, an expansive coastal landscape and distinctive wetlands. Patara is located in the Gelemiş neighbourhood of Kaş District, east of the Eşen River. This gives you a choice of different focuses when planning your holiday: archaeological remains, Patara Beach and a landscape also shaped by Lake Gelemiş.

Patara: the city’s history at specific sites

Patara was the capital of the Lycian League. The entrance to the ancient city is through a well-preserved Roman triumphal arch, the city gate. Meetings of the Lycian League were held in the parliament building, which had a capacity of 1,400 people. The ancient theatre had a capacity of 5,000 people and was rebuilt after an earthquake in 147 AD. The different capacity figures give an impression of the scale of these two buildings without conflating their functions.

The city’s economic and urban history can also be traced through individual buildings and connections. The Granarium was a 75-metre-long grain store dating from the time of Hadrian. Patara was a harbour where grain transported from Anatolia to Rome was stored. The main street connected the harbour to the agora and was lined with colonnades on both sides. The granary, harbour and central street thus represent different aspects of the ancient city.

Archaeological excavations date the beginnings of Patara’s history to the Early Bronze Age, around 3000 BC. Later historical remains include an Ottoman wireless telegraph station, which was also used as a post office. The Lighthouse of Nero is considered the oldest lighthouse in the world and is being rebuilt. These various remains span far more than a single era.

Patara Beach and wetlands

Patara Beach stretches 18 kilometres from east to west and is about 500 metres wide. The wet strip along the beach is a separate feature: it is 7 kilometres long and an average of 25 metres wide. This strip is a primary nesting area for loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas). Visitors especially interested in the landscape and sea turtles will find a different focus here than among Patara’s buildings.

Lake Gelemiş, also known as Lake Ova, is a very shallow wetland that dries up in summer. In the wider region, the Patara Special Environmental Protection Area extends across the provinces of Muğla and Antalya and the districts of Fethiye and Kaş; it is an important sea turtle nesting area. Its geographical extent should be distinguished from the wetland strip along the beach. Together, these details illustrate different landscape features, from the shallow lake to the larger protected area.

Hiking and staying in Gelemiş

The ancient city of Patara is close to the Lycian Way hiking route. The Akbel–Delikkemer–Patara section runs from a hill overlooking Patara Beach towards Patara and the settlement of Gelemiş. When planning your trip, you can therefore decide whether you would prefer to focus on the remains of the ancient city, the coastal and wetland landscape, or a hiking route. These themes give your search for a holiday apartment in Gelemiş a specific focus.

Seasonal public transport connections to Gelemiş are available during most months of the year.

Discover more places

You can also explore Manavgat, Kumköy, Avsallar, Denizyaka, Çenger, Belek/Antalya, Serik and Çukurbağ as you continue looking for a holiday destination.

For the overview of the wider region, see: Antalya.