Patara was an ancient city on the southwestern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. It served as an important harbor of the region known as Lycia. People inhabited Patara from about the 700’s B.C. to the A.D. 1400’s or 1500’s.
A people called the Lycians lived at Patara beginning in the 700’s B.C. Ancient sources tell that people visited a temple dedicated to Apollo at Patara to learn the future from an oracle (prophet).
In the 330’s B.C., Patara surrendered peacefully to the Macedonian king Alexander the Great. From about 200 B.C. to the A.D. 300’s, Patara was an important member of the Lycian League, a democratic federation of Lycian city-states. The city-states, each consisting of a city and its surrounding territory, included Myra, Olympos, Pinara, Tlos, and Xanthos. In A.D. 43, Patara became a Roman port and administrative center. Strong Christian communities developed in Lycia starting in the first 100 years after Jesus Christ’s birth. According to the Bible (Acts 21: 1-2), Saint Paul changed ships at Patara. Legend holds that Saint Nicholas was born at Patara in the A.D. 300’s.
Through the years, the Romans, and then the Byzantines, controlled Patara. The city was abandoned, probably in the 1400’s or 1500’s, after the Ottomans had taken control of the region.
Archaeological remains at Patara include an assembly building used by the ancient Greeks and Romans, a lighthouse, Roman baths, a theater, tombs, and a Byzantine church. Over time, Patara’s harbor filled with sand. Today, the area is a protected natural habitat where sea turtles lay their eggs.
See also Nicholas, Saint .
