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"CADIANDA"
Lycian City
18 kilometers
north -east of Fethiye, near
Uzumlu,
is the site of Cadianda. From Uzumlu, there is a long and steep climb in
order to reach this city, about one and a half to three hours on foot, though it
is also reachable by car. Whatever the mode of transport, you will not regret
that you have made the climb once you reach the top as you will be greeted with
a breathtaking view of the Fethiye area as well as the ruins of the ancient city
scattered on the mountainside among the pine trees. On the whole, the site is
very attractive but largely covered in forest undergrowth, and to some extent
spoilt by illegal digging.
Cadianda,
known as 'Kadawati' in Lycian, was a relatively obscure city. It is
mentioned only once in ancient manuscripts, although its monuments and
inscriptions at the site go back to the 5th century B.C.
Perched on its
hilltop 400 meters above Uzumlu and about 900 meters above the sea, Cadianda was
certainly in a commanding situation. The ancients Greeks, like the modern Turks,
made light of a 300-meter climb at the end of their day's work. The more
comfortable ascent leads round the hill from the north side by the east to the
south; the more direct path is a very steep but convenient for the descent.
On the way up
is a group of four handsome tombs; three of these, of house-type, are cut in
large boulders, which have fallen at a later stage and are now lying at odd
angles. The fourth stands free on all four sides and appears to be cut from the
solid rock; the two long sides are decorated with fine relief’s - on the south
side, a manan reclining on a couch. On the north, a mounted warrior riding over
a fallen foe and charging down another who carries a shield and a spear raised
ineffectually skyward. Sir Charles Fellows dated this tomb to around 400 B.C.
and called it Hector's Tomb.
Approaching
the site from the south, the visitor comes first upon an immense number of tombs
or graves, most of which have been illegally dug around in recent times and are
consequently badly damaged; a few still stand more or less intact. Some consist
of a vaulted chamber originally covered with plaster, a type also found at
Olympus on the east coast, but not characteristic of Lycia as a whole.
A little
further up is the city-wall, constructed of wide stone blocks. It is fairly well
preserved in parts, but hardly discernible elsewhere. It still offers an
impressive panoramic view of the Xanthos Valley and the Fethiye plain.
Just inside it
is a small theatre, in poor condition. Many of its seats survive on the west
side, and the semi-circular retaining wall of the cavea still stands; it is
built against the excavated hillside and is visible only from the interior. The
rest of the stage building is pretty much indiscernible.
Across the
city centre, from west to east, runs a long open space some 10 meters wide and
over 90 meters long. Despite its dimensions and its unusual position, there is
no doubt that this is a stadium, since inscriptions relate two athletic
festivals celebrated at Cadianda. The original length is uncertain, as the ends
are destroyed, and it was probably more like the usual stadium standard length
of some 200 meters, and it is now largely overgrown except for the western end.
Eight statue-bases of athletic victors have been found in or around it and six
rows of seats are partially preserved on the north side; along the south side
runs a line of blocks.
Adjoining the
stadium on the south is a building of the Roman period divided into three
chambers, with three large windows on the south side. The western chamber has an
apse at its south end. An inscription lying close by records that the Emperor
Vespasian built the baths out of the money recovered by him for the city -
interesting to have this evidence of the interest taken by the emperor in the
affairs even of the minor cities of his empire. The building in question must
evidently be the baths though its form is unusual for a bath of the Roman
period. The three chambers are now in a state of ruin, but a small building
close to one corner is still standing in fairly good condition.
Across the way
on the north side are the ruins of a large structure identified as a Doric
temple, with stairs leading up to it from the stadium. However, there is little
that can be made out of its present condition.
In the
southwest part of the city, lost among the vegetation, is a ruined stoa some 90
meters long; the space adjoining it on the north has been dubiously identified
as the agora. The city lays too high from an aqueduct of the normal Roman type,
and a supply of water was secured by cistems; many of these are to be seen, and
half a dozen of them still contain water during the summer.
At the foot of
the hill, not far from Uzumlu, are two noteworthy tombs, one is called Hector
and the other is Salas, though they are now sadly damaged. One that stands near
the road from Uzumlu to ancient city is a pillar-tomb of standard type but
lacking the grave-chamber at the top. It has recently been overturned and the
upper stone is cracked in two. The other stood about a kilometre to the
southeast of Uzumlu and was among the most remarkable tombs in Lycia; it is now
damaged almost beyond recognition. In 1966, some of the pieces of this monument
which were removed to the British Museum were examined in detail, and sketches
were made - it was free-standing, cut from the rock, and carried relief’s on all
four sides. These included warriors, men and woman seated or reclining and
animals. On one side the male figures, but not the female, were identified by
their name in Lycian or Greek; only one woman has a name attached, and she is
called merely the 'wife of Zzala'. The tomb, which was quite possibly that of a
Cadiandian princess who came from a Carian Heka - tomnid family, is dated to the
late 5th century B.C. |