Editing Lycia (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Reconstruction_Nereid_Monument_BM.jpg|thumb|Partial reconstruction of the Nereid Monument at [[Xanthos]] in Lycia, c. 390–380 BC.]]

The borders of Lycia varied over time, but at its centre was the [[Teke peninsula]] of southwestern Turkey, which juts southward into the [[Mediterranean Sea]], bounded on the west by the [[Gulf of Fethiye]], and on the east by the [[Gulf of Antalya]]. Lycia comprised what is now the westernmost portion of [[Antalya]] Province, the easternmost portion of [[Muğla Province]], and the southernmost portion of [[Burdur]] Province. In ancient times the surrounding districts were, from west to east, [[Caria]], [[Pisidia]], and [[Pamphylia]], all equally as ancient, and each speaking its own [[Anatolian languages|Anatolian language]].

The name of the Teke Peninsula comes from the former name of Antalya Province, which was [[Teke Province]], named from the Turkish tribe that settled in the region.

===Physical geography===

Four ridges extend from northeast to southwest, roughly, forming the western extremity of the [[Taurus Mountains]]. Furthest west of the four are Boncuk Dağlari, or 'the Boncuk Mountains', extending from about [[Altinyayla, Burdur]], southwest to about Oren north of [[Fethiye]]. This is a fairly low range peaking at about {{convert|2340|m|ft|abbr=on}}. To the west of it the steep gorges of [[Dalaman River|Dalaman Çayi]] ('the Dalaman River'), the ancient Indus, formed the traditional border between Caria and Lycia. The stream, {{convert|229|km|mi|abbr=on}} long, enters the Mediterranean to the west of modern-day [[Dalaman]]. Upstream it is dammed in four places, after an origin in the vicinity of Sarikavak in [[Denizli]] Province.

[[File:Xanthos inschriftenpfeiler axb01.jpg|thumb|Inscribed [[Xanthian Obelisk]] (c. 400 BC), a funerary pillar for a sarcophagus that probably belonged to Dynast [[Kheriga]].{{sfn|Keen|1998|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4Ig4KJySudYC&pg=PA130 130]}}]]
The next ridge to the east is Akdağlari, 'the White Mountains', about {{convert|150|km|mi|abbr=on}} long, with a high point at Uyluktepe, "Uyluk Peak", of {{convert|3024|m|ft|abbr=on}}. This massif may have been ancient Mount Cragus. Along its western side flows Eşen Çayi, "the Esen River", anciently the [[Xanthos]], Lycian Arñna, originating in the Boncuk Mountains, flowing south, and transecting the several-mile-long beach at [[Patara (Lycia)|Patara]]. The Xanthos Valley was the country called Tŗmmis in dynastic Lycia, from which the people were the Termilae or Tremilae, or Kragos in the coin inscriptions of Greek Lycia: Kr or Ksan Kr. The name of western Lycia was given by [[Charles Fellows]] to it and points of Lycia west of it.

The next ridge to the east, Beydağlari, 'the Bey Mountains', peaks at Kizlarsevrisi, {{convert|3086|m|ft|abbr=on}}, the highest point of the Teke Peninsula. It is most likely the ancient Masicytus range. Between Beydağlari and Akdağlari is an upland plateau, Elmali, where ancient Milyas was located. The elevation of the town of Elmali, which means 'Apple Town,' from the density of fruit-bearing groves in the region, is {{convert|1100|m|ft|abbr=on}}, which is the highest part of the valley below it. Fellows considered the valley to be central Lycia.

The Akçay, or 'White River', the ancient Aedesa, brought water from the slopes to the plain, where it pooled in two lakes below the town, Karagöl and Avlangöl. Currently the two lakes are dry, the waters being captured on an ongoing basis by irrigation systems for the trees. The Aedesa once drained the plain through a chasm to the east, but now flows entirely through pipelines covering the same route, but emptying into the water supplies of Arycanda and Arif. An effort has been made to restore some of the cedar forests cleared in antiquity.<ref>{{cite book | title=Mountain and plain: from the Lycian coast to the Phrygian plateau in the late Roman and early Byzantine period | first1=Martin | last1=Harrison | first2=Wendy | last2=Young | location=Ann Arbor | publisher=The University of Michigan Press | year=2001 | pages=48–50}}</ref>

The easternmost ridge extends along the east coast of the Teke Peninsula, and is called, generally, Tahtali Dağlari, "The Tahtali Mountains." The high point within them is Tahtali Dağ, elevation {{convert|2366|m|ft|abbr=on}}, dubbed "Mount Olympus" in antiquity by the Greeks, remembering [[Mount Olympus]] in Greece.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tahtali Dagi (2366 m.) |work=Antalya Website |date=1996–2011 |publisher=antalyaonline.net |url=http://www.antalya-ws.com/english/mountain/tahtali.asp |access-date=21 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825212131/http://www.antalya-ws.com/english/mountain/tahtali.asp |archive-date=25 August 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> These mountains create a rugged coastline called by Fellows eastern Lycia. Much of it has been reserved as Olimpos Beydağlari Parki. Within the park on the slopes of Mount Olympus is a U-shaped outcrop, [[Yanartaş]], above [[Cirali]], from which [[methane]] gas, naturally perpetually escaping from below through the rocks, feeds eternal flames. This is the location of ancient [[Mount Chimaera]].

Through the [[cul-de-sac]] between Baydağlari and Tahtalidağlari, the Alakir Çay ('Alakir River'), the ancient Limyra, flows to the south trickling from the broad valley under superhighway D400 near downtown [[Kumluca]] across a barrier beach into the Mediterranean. This configuration is entirely modern. Upstream the river is impounded behind Alakir Dam to form an urban-size reservoir. Below the reservoir a braided stream alternates with a single, small channel flowing through irrigated land. The wide bed gives an indication of the former size of the river. Upstream from the reservoir the stream lies in an unaltered gorge, flowing from the slopes of Baydağlari. The ancient route to Antalya goes up the valley and over the cul-de-sac, as the coast itself is impassible except by boat. The valley was the seat of ancient Solymus, home of the Solymi.

===Demography===

There are at least 381 ancient settlements in the broader region of Lycia-Pamphylia, with the vast majority of these in Lycia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jacobson |first1=Matthew J. |last2=Pickett |first2=Jordan |last3=Gascoigne |first3=Alison L. |last4=Fleitmann |first4=Dominik |last5=Elton |first5=Hugh |date=2022-06-27 |title=Settlement, environment, and climate change in SW Anatolia: Dynamics of regional variation and the end of Antiquity |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=e0270295 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0270295 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=9236232 |pmid=35759500 |bibcode=2022PLoSO..1770295J |doi-access=free }}</ref> These are situated either along the coastal strip in the protecting coves or on the slopes and hills of the mountain ranges. They are often difficult to access, which in ancient times was a defensive feature. The rugged coastline favored well-defended ports from which, in troubled times, Lycian pirate fleets sallied forth.

The principal cities of ancient Lycia were [[Xanthos]], [[Patara (Lycia)|Patara]], [[Myra]], [[Pinara]], [[Tlos]] and [[Olympos (Lycia)|Olympos]] (each entitled to three votes in the Lycian League) and [[Phaselis]]. Cities such as [[Telmessos]] and [[Krya]] were sometimes listed by Classical authors as Carian and sometimes as Lycian.

{{Further|List of Lycian place names}}