4 Best Sights in Demre, The Turquoise Coast

The monuments of ancient Myra—a very well-preserved Roman theater and a cliff face full of Lycian rock tombs—sit just north of Demre. The theater dates from the 2nd century AD and was one of the largest in the region; for a time it hosted gladiator spectacles and wild animal hunts. Some of the tombs are decorated with reliefs, and there are expressive theatrical masks carved into stone blocks throughout the site. When you arrive, you'll see plenty of vendors hawking Orthodox Christian votives to Russian tourists, to tie in with the nearby church of St. Nicholas. The entrance fee is steep, but it's included on many organized tours so it's worth spending some time planning.

The grave of Myra's famous 4th-century bishop—St. Nicholas (aka Santa Claus)—quickly became a pilgrimage site shortly after his death. A church was built around his tomb in the 6th century but later destroyed in an Arab raid. In 1043, St. Nicholas Basilica was rebuilt with the aid of the Byzantine emperor Constantine IX and the empress Zoë. It was, in turn, heavily restored in the 19th century courtesy of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. (To this day, most visitors to the church—now operated as a museum—are Russian.)

It's difficult to distinguish between parts of the original church and the restorations, although the bell tower and upper story are clearly late additions. The colorful, evocative frescos are reminiscent of the early churches of Cappadocia. The reputed sarcophagus of St. Nicholas is in the southernmost aisle, though his remains were stolen in 1087 and taken to Bari, Italy, where the church of San Nicola di Bari was built to house them. A few bones remained, so the story goes, and these can be seen in the Antalya Museum.

A service is (theoretically, at least) held in the church every year on December 6, the feast day of St. Nicholas. Among his good deeds, the saint is said to have carried out nocturnal visits to the houses of local children to leave gifts, including gold coins as dowries for poor village girls; if a window was closed, said the storytellers, he would drop the gifts down the chimney.

Andriake, the seaport of ancient Myra, was a major stopover on the Egypt-to-Rome route that supplied most of Rome's wheat. St. Paul changed ships here on his journey to Rome in AD 60, and Hadrian built a huge granary on the site. The largest and best-preserved structure at Andriake, the granary has been restored to house the Lycian Civilizations Museum, which offers an in-depth look at the history of the region, including its role in Mediterranean trade and as a production site for murex, a purple dye valued highly in the ancient world.

The partially excavated ruins of Andriake include remnants of an agora (with a cistern underneath), multiple churches and baths, and a synagogue, believed to be the oldest one in Mediterranean Anatolia. A pretty path winds among them, past olive trees and the marshy Demre Kuş Cenneti, a bird sanctuary where you can spot flamingos and other species. Continue on the rustic road to Demre's yacht harbor for modest snack bars, a refreshing sea breeze, and a glorious view over the water.

Also known as Sura, this was ancient Myra's most important pre-Christian holy site. Priests of Apollo would release fish into the sacred pool here, and then "read" the future from their movements. It still has Lycian tombs and a small acropolis, from which the temple of Apollo is visible in the overgrown valley below.