Phaselis is an ancient port city on the coast south of Kemer in Antalya province, built on a small peninsula with three natural harbours and surrounded by pine forest. It is one of the rare places in Turkey where you can walk down a Roman street lined with ruins and, a few minutes later, swim in the clear water of the same harbour where ancient ships once moored. Phaselis lies within the Olympos Beydağları National Park, between the mountains and the sea.
Phaselis is compact, shady and easy to visit in a morning or an afternoon. On a self-drive trip along the coast west of Antalya it combines naturally with the beach and ruins of Olympos, the eternal flames of the Chimaera at Çıralı, and the cable car to the summit of Mount Tahtalı.
A short history of Phaselis
Phaselis was founded by colonists from Rhodes in the early 7th century BC, traditionally around 690 BC. Its position was ideal for a trading city: three sheltered harbours on a coast where good anchorages were scarce, on the sea route between the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean. The city grew rich on trade, and its coins often showed the prow of a ship.
Over the centuries Phaselis passed through many hands, typical of this stretch of coast: it came under Persian, Hellenistic and Roman control and was at times allied with the cities of Lycia. Alexander the Great passed through in the winter of 334–333 BC during his campaign in Asia Minor and was welcomed by the city.
The Roman period brought the monuments you see today. Emperor Hadrian visited Phaselis in the 2nd century AD, and the city built a monumental gate in his honour. In the Byzantine era Phaselis remained a port and bishopric, but it declined in the Middle Ages as trade moved to Antalya and Alanya, and the site was gradually abandoned to the forest.
Legend held that the city's Temple of Athena kept the spear of Achilles, a sign of how proud Phaselis was of its Greek roots.
The three harbours of Phaselis
The three harbours are what make Phaselis unique. Each served a different purpose, and you can still see them clearly today.
- The North Harbour is the most exposed of the three, suited to smaller vessels and used in good weather. Remains of harbour walls can be traced in the water.
- The City Harbour (also called the Military, Battle or Protected Harbour) was the main enclosed military harbour, protected by moles with a narrow entrance that could be closed off. It sits right beside the city centre.
- The South Harbour (Big Harbour) is the largest and was the main commercial port, able to shelter big merchant ships. A long breakwater once protected it. Today it is a calm bay with a small beach, and day boats from Kemer often anchor here.
Each harbour has a little stretch of pebbles or sand where you can swim, and the water is usually clear and calm. The forest grows right down to the shoreline, so there is always some shade.
What to see at Phaselis
The main street
A broad paved street runs across the peninsula, linking the City Harbour to the South Harbour. It was the backbone of Roman Phaselis, lined with shops, public buildings and colonnades. Walking it from end to end takes only a few minutes, but it is the best place to imagine the city at its height.
Hadrian's Gate
At the southern end of the main street stand the remains of the gate built for Emperor Hadrian's visit in the 2nd century AD. Fragments of its carved marble and its dedicatory inscription lie around the site.
Agoras, baths and theatre
Along the main street are the remains of several agoras (market squares), including the Square Agora and the Agora of Domitian, as well as Roman baths with the outlines of their heated rooms still visible. Above them, on the slope of the small acropolis hill, a modest theatre faces the street, with pine trees growing between its seats. From the top rows you can see across the ruins to the sea and Mount Tahtalı behind.
The aqueduct
The aqueduct of Phaselis is one of the most photogenic monuments on the site. Its stone arches and piers carried water from a spring to the city, and the surviving sections stand in the forest near the entrance, lit by the sun filtering through the pines. It is a lovely spot in the late afternoon.
Tombs and sarcophagi
Scattered along the shore and in the forest around the city are sarcophagi and tombs, many half hidden among the trees. They are a reminder of how large the ancient city was compared with the compact ruins near the harbours.
Beaches and swimming at Phaselis
Yes, you can swim at Phaselis. The three ancient harbours double as small beaches, and swimming among the remains of ancient harbour walls is one of the joys of a visit. The water is clean and usually calm, especially in the South Harbour.
There are no beach bars or sunbed rentals of the resort kind inside the ancient site, which keeps it pleasantly natural. Bring a towel, water and snacks, and take all rubbish away with you. The forest shade makes Phaselis comfortable even in summer, but it is still busiest in the middle of the day, when boat trips from Kemer arrive. Mornings and late afternoons are quieter.
Olympos Beydağları National Park
Phaselis lies within the Olympos Beydağları National Park, which stretches along the coast south-west of Antalya from the Beydağları mountains down to the sea. The park takes in ancient sites, pine forest, beaches and the high summit of Mount Tahtalı, also known as Lycian Olympos.
Its protection is the reason this coast still feels green and wild, despite being so close to Kemer's resorts. For drivers, the D400 coastal road through the park is a pleasure in itself, winding through forest with glimpses of the sea.
Near Kemer and Tekirova
Phaselis sits just off the D400 between Kemer and Tekirova, about 15 minutes south of Kemer and about an hour from central Antalya. Tekirova, the resort village closest to the site, has a range of hotels and is also near the base station of the Tahtalı cable car.
If you prefer something quieter than the big resorts, Çıralı, about half an hour further south, is a good base: a low-key village of small family hotels and gardens behind a long beach.
Combining Phaselis with Olympos, Çıralı and the Chimaera
Phaselis is the first stop on one of the most rewarding short stretches of the Turkish coast.
Olympos and Çıralı
Olympos is an ancient Lycian city whose ruins lie in a wooded valley that opens onto a long pebble beach. Temples, tombs and a theatre are scattered among the trees and along a stream. Çıralı, at the other end of the same beach, is a protected nesting area for loggerhead sea turtles and one of the most relaxed places to stay on the coast.
The Chimaera (Yanartaş)
The Chimaera, known in Turkish as Yanartaş ("burning rock"), is a hillside above Çıralı where flames burn constantly from vents in the rock, fed by natural gas seeping from the ground. In antiquity the fire was linked to the myth of the Chimaera, the fire-breathing monster killed by the hero Bellerophon.
A path climbs to the flames from a car park above Çıralı, about a 20 to 30 minute uphill walk. Go at dusk or after dark, when the fires glow most dramatically, and bring a torch for the walk down.
The Tahtalı cable car
The Tahtalı cable car (Olympos Teleferik) climbs from a valley station near Tekirova to the summit of Mount Tahtalı at 2,365 metres. The ride takes about ten minutes, and on a clear day the views over the coast, Kemer and the Gulf of Antalya are spectacular. It can be cold at the top even in summer, so bring a layer. Check the weather before you go, as cloud can roll in quickly.
A good day might run: Phaselis in the morning with a swim, the Tahtalı cable car in the middle of the day, and Olympos and the Chimaera in the evening, with a night in Çıralı.
Driving to Phaselis
Phaselis is easy to reach by car. Approximate drive times:
- From Antalya: about 1 hour south-west on the D400.
- From Kemer: about 15 minutes.
- From Olympos or Çıralı: about 30 to 40 minutes.
- From Kaş: about 3 hours east along the coast.
The turn-off from the D400 is signposted, and a short road through the pines leads to the car park and entrance. For more on the coast road, read our Lycian coast road trip guide and practical tips on driving in Turkey.
Phaselis on a Lycian coast route
West of Phaselis, the D400 continues past Olympos to Finike, Demre and Kekova, where you can see the sunken city by boat or kayak. Beyond Kaş lie Patara, with its huge sandy beach, and Ölüdeniz and the Blue Lagoon near Fethiye, then Dalyan.
Phaselis appears on our sample routes Antalya to Blue Lagoon and Antalya to Dalyan, and on the longer Grand Turkey for Summer. Each one is a starting point that we rebuild around your dates and interests.
Plan it as a self-drive trip
Phaselis, Olympos, the Chimaera and Tahtalı are close together but poorly served by public transport, which makes this stretch of coast ideal for a car. You can swim in an ancient harbour in the morning, ride to the mountaintop at midday and watch the flames of Yanartaş at dusk.
Tell us when you want to travel and what you enjoy, and we will design a personal itinerary along the coast with hand-picked hotels, a rental car and support throughout your trip.
