The region, west of the line between the north edge of Antalya Bay and Fethiye (Telmessos) was called Lykia in ancient times. The coastline in the Lykia region has a complex structure, allowing ships to dock, contrary to the other coastline area in Pamphylia. Therefore, you may find ruins next to each bay along this coastline. Works from the Bronze Age, were found in Semahiiyuk, near Elmali, in the inner parts of the region…

Homeros, the Anatolian poet, was the first to mention and describe this region. He wrote about the Lykians, and Sarpedon, their brave leader, who fought against the Trojans and desc ribed Xantos (Kinik). Heredetos, the historian who lived in the fifth century BC described the Lydians fiasco in capturing Lykia…

The most important invasion, was the Persian invasion in the sixth century BC… After a long struggle, Harpagos, the Persian commander, occupied the city. Later, the city was occupied by Greek units under the command of Alexander, who entered the region in 334 BC. In the middle of the fourth century BC, the Lykians united and organized as a federation… The sources state that the region was put under the control of Rome at the beginning of the second century BC, and Rome transferred this control to Rhodes. After the Rhodes’ dominance, the Lykian Union again became a current issue and this time it succeeded. The re-indepen dence of this region is interpreted as the strong power of union between the Lykian cities. The region was a pirates den during the first century before Christ… Zeniketes was the most famous pirate of the old times, living around Olympos and Phaselis… Zeniketes was defeated by Servilius Isauricus, the Roman General in year 78…

The End of Zeniketes Strabon, the historian, describes the fall of Zenikes with these lines: “The pirate fortress of Zeniketes is located on the slope of theTaurus (Toros) Mountains. I mean Olympos. Likya, Pamphylia, Pisidia and Milyas may be seen from both the sea and the fortress. But Zeniketes burned himself and his family when Isauricus captured this mountain. Many other cities in Kory-kos, Phaselis and Pamphylia belonged to him.. During the Roman Empire era, Lykia became richer and lead its brightest era… However, the earthquakes in 141 and 240, problems with the pirates, and a spat between the Pagans and the Christians weakened the region. After Arab attacks in the seventh century, the cities of this region became villages.