Pictures Images photos of the ancient Lycian archaeological site of Myra, Demre, Turkey. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams. The city is situated at the foot of the Alaca Dag (mountain) on the edge of the fertile alluvial plain close to the Aegean Sea. Myra became part of the Lycian alliance in 168 B.C and was one of the largest towns in the alliance. There are 2 necropolis of Lycian rock cut tombs in Myra. The tombs are cut into the rock and fronted with temple fronts. These would have been family tombs and one still has a relief sculpture of its owner, a gladiator in full Roman armour, cut into the rock above the tomb entrance. Lycians also built tombs onto of pillars often with a characteristic pointed curved roof or in the shape of small Greek Temples. In Christian times Myra was the metropolis of Lycia whose famous 4th century charitable Bishop, Saint Nicholas of Myra, is better known around the world today as Santa Claus. The Saint Nicholas Basilica in the new town of Demre, next to Myra, was built in the 8th century and the bones of Saint Nicholas were stolen during the Turkish invasions and taken to "safety" in Bari, Italy. Mira is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

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