An ancient Lycian city near the village of Kılıçlı between Kaş and Kekova, Apollonia features Lycian pillar tombs dating to around 500 BC, the remains of a Hellenistic-era theatre, a Byzantine church, city walls, and a prominent tower on the acropolis. The city was part of a sympoliteia (political union) with Aperlae, Simena, and Isinda. The ruins are scattered across a hillside with views over the Mediterranean coast.
Highlights
- Lycian pillar tombs from around 500 BC crowning the ridge
- A Hellenistic acropolis tower above theatre, church and city walls
- Member of a four-town sympoliteia with Aperlae, Simena and Isinda
- Wolves — lykoi — guiding Leto to the Xanthos in the myth that named Lycia
- Stones lying much as abandonment left them fourteen centuries ago
At a glance
| Period | Lycian / Roman (5th century BC – 4th century AD) |
|---|---|
| Stage | 10 — Kaş to Limanağzı |
Take care
- Sarcophagus lids lie at ankle height in thorny scrub — watch your footing
- No facilities at the ruins — carry water
History
The oldest monuments on the ridge date from the Lycian dynastic age, and Hellenistic masons later walled the acropolis and raised its tower in an era of small-town insecurity. Roman rule brought a quiet provincial prosperity, remembered chiefly in tombs, and occupation continued into the 6th and 7th centuries AD before Arab seaborne raiding made this coast unsafe and the hill was given up. Never excavated, Apollonia is known from surveys, its stones lying much as abandonment left them fourteen centuries ago.
Myth & legend
The town's name honours Apollo, chief god of the Lycians. In one ancient telling, wolves — lykoi — guided the goddess Leto to the river Xanthos, and the whole land took the name Lycia from her guides.
Geology
Apollonia's hill is karstified limestone of the central Lycian coast, standing above pocket plains where red residual soil and washed-in silt have gathered in closed hollows — the only arable ground in this stony country. As across the Teke karst, rain sinks straight into the fissured rock, so the hilltop has always depended on stored winter rainfall.
Wildlife & nature
Kermes oak, mastic and spiny burnet cover the ridge, with cyclamen and anemone in the shaded hollows in spring. Rüppell's and Sardinian warblers scold from the thickets, black-eared wheatears use the fallen blocks, and spur-thighed tortoises are common in the clearings.
The view
Pillar tombs and a Hellenistic tower crest a scrub-covered hill between Kaş and Kekova, sarcophagi scattered downslope and the sea glinting beyond — wild, quiet and rarely visited.
Photography
Late afternoon warms the pillar tombs along the ridge line; the acropolis tower gives a wide shot over the Sıçak peninsula; spring greenery lifts the otherwise grey-on-grey scrub.
When to visit
March–May is the sweet spot, with flowers in the hollows and cool walking; autumn is settled; high summer turns the shadeless ridge into an early-morning-only proposition.
Getting there
On the trail between Boğazcık and Aperlae, beside Kılıçlı village; no regular dolmuş serves the village, so non-walkers arrive by taxi or arranged transfer from Kaş along the peninsula road.
Where to stay
A few village houses around Kılıçlı and Boğazcık take guests simply; Üçağız and Kaleköy pansiyons lie a stage east, with Kaş the full-service base to the west.
Food & water
No source at the ruins — carry from Boğazcık or Kılıçlı; this whole peninsula stretch is dry karst country, and walkers should leave the villages with bottles full.
Safety
Hillside ruins in thorny scrub — ground is uneven and sarcophagi lids lie at ankle height, so watch your footing. No facilities; carry water. In an emergency dial 112.
Accessibility
A rough hill of uneven blocks, ankle-height sarcophagus lids and thorny scrub — hard walking throughout, with no vehicle access to the ruins themselves.
Visitor tips
Combine with half-sunken Aperlae an hour south, then follow the coast path on to Üçağız; long trousers beat the spiny burnet, and the archaic pillar tombs are the rarest thing here.
Listen: the audio guide
The full narration of this stop's audio guide, in text. The audio itself plays only in the app.
There are no barriers here, no signboards worth the name and, on most days, nobody else at all. The path leaves the village of Kılıçlı and climbs a scrubby ridge between Kaş and Kekova, and somewhere on the way up you realise that the shapes among the spiny burnet are not boulders. They are tombs. Blunt stone pillars stand along the crest, a tower waits on the summit, and the sea glints away beyond all of it. This is Apollonia, and almost nobody comes.
The oldest monuments on this ridge belong to the Lycian dynastic age. Hellenistic masons later walled the acropolis and raised its tower, in an era when small towns had good reason to feel nervous, and Roman rule then brought a quiet provincial prosperity, remembered chiefly through tombs rather than temples. Apollonia has never been excavated, and what you are walking through lies more or less as abandonment left it. The name honours Apollo, chief god of the Lycians. The rock beneath is karstified limestone of the central Lycian coast, and it shaped everything that happened up here: rain falls straight through the fissures rather than running across the surface, so there is no stream on this hill, and the town always lived on winter rainfall stored in cisterns. Those pockets of red soil in the closed hollows below were the only arable ground in a very stony country.
Now, look for four things on this ridge. First, and rarest, the Lycian pillar tombs, standing up out of the scrub like blunt stone fingers, dating from around 500 before our era. This is the archaic Lycian idea of a grave: a burial chamber lifted into the air on a single monolithic shaft, so the dead sit above the living world rather than under it. They are far scarcer than sarcophagi, and to meet them on an empty hillside is a considerable privilege. Second, the Hellenistic tower crowning the acropolis, with the circuit walls running away from it. Third, the tumbled seating of a theatre on the slope, easy to walk straight past until the curve of it catches your eye. And fourth, a Byzantine church among the scrub, so that a single walk carries you across roughly a thousand years of building.
This city was never a great power. Its strength was company. Apollonia belonged to a sympoliteia, a political union, with neighbouring Aperlae, Simena and Isinda, four small towns pooling their citizenship and their voice so that the wider affairs of Lycia could not simply be settled over their heads. It worked for a long time. Occupation ran on into the sixth and seventh centuries of our era, and then Arab raiding from the sea made this whole coast unsafe, and the four towns could pool nothing that would help. The hill was given up. Nobody has needed it since, which is fourteen centuries of quiet, and you are standing in the middle of it.
And the older story, the one attached to the land itself. It is said that when the goddess Leto came south with her newborn twins and needed water for them, wolves, lykoi in Greek, went ahead of her and guided her to the river Xanthos. From her guides, the story goes, the whole country took the name Lycia. Believe it or not as you please. It is a pleasing thought on a stony ridge like this one.
Watch your feet on the way round, because sarcophagus lids sit at ankle height in the thorn, and the spiny burnet has strong opinions about bare legs. Late afternoon warms the pillar tombs beautifully, warblers scold from the thickets and tortoises grind slowly through the clearings. When you have had your fill, the coast path leads on towards half-sunken Aperlae, an hour south, and then to Üçağız. Leave the stones exactly as you found them. Nobody is watching this hill but you. Walk safe.
Common questions
How old is Apollonia?
Apollonia dates from the Lycian / Roman (5th century BC – 4th century AD) period.
How do I get to Apollonia?
On the trail between Boğazcık and Aperlae, beside Kılıçlı village; no regular dolmuş serves the village, so non-walkers arrive by taxi or arranged transfer from Kaş along the peninsula road.
Is Apollonia accessible?
A rough hill of uneven blocks, ankle-height sarcophagus lids and thorny scrub — hard walking throughout, with no vehicle access to the ruins themselves.
When is the best time to visit Apollonia?
March–May is the sweet spot, with flowers in the hollows and cool walking; autumn is settled; high summer turns the shadeless ridge into an early-morning-only proposition.
Is there food and water at Apollonia?
No source at the ruins — carry from Boğazcık or Kılıçlı; this whole peninsula stretch is dry karst country, and walkers should leave the villages with bottles full.
Where can I stay near Apollonia?
A few village houses around Kılıçlı and Boğazcık take guests simply; Üçağız and Kaleköy pansiyons lie a stage east, with Kaş the full-service base to the west.
What should I know before visiting Apollonia?
Combine with half-sunken Aperlae an hour south, then follow the coast path on to Üçağız; long trousers beat the spiny burnet, and the archaic pillar tombs are the rarest thing here.
Is Apollonia safe to visit?
Hillside ruins in thorny scrub — ground is uneven and sarcophagi lids lie at ankle height, so watch your footing. No facilities; carry water. In an emergency dial 112.
Nearby on the route
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