Sunken City Simena

Lycia was a region on the Western Taurus Mountains in Teke Peninsula at southwestern Anatolia on the Mediterranean Sea coast, located in what are today the provinces Muğla and Antalya. According to historians, Lycian people lived in the area from the prehistoric period until they were absorbed into Roman culture Late Bronze Age.[1] They built city-states along the Mediterranean Sea coast such as Xanthos, Patara, Myra, Pinara, Tlos, Olympos and Phaselis,[1] and formed the Lycian League. Thanks to their strategic location, they had best opportunities for sea trade and even piracy.[2] In later times, the region of Lycia was occupied by the Persian Empire, Ancient Greece, and then controlled by Ancient Rome, Byzantine Empire, Seljuk Empire, and finally the Ottoman Empire.[2] Rock-cut tombs on cliff walls and sarcophagi in the region testify to the Lycian civilization.[3]

The Lycian Way, parts of which were used by the Lycians as routes between their cities and ports, was conceived by Kate Clow, a British expatriate living in Turkey since 1989, and opened in 1999.[1][2][3] The Garanti Bank sponsored the waymarking that was carried out by a group of volunteers organized by Clow.[1][3]