Patara is famous with its beatiful and long beach. This beach is one of the longest beaches in the world.The ancient city of Patara is situated between Fethiye and Kalkan, in the southwest corner of the plentiful Xanthos Valley. Exit off the main road onto the Gelemiþ Road, then drive down this road for five kilometers until you reach the ruins of Patara. The finding of coins and ceramic fragments in recently carried out excavations that date back to the 7th century B.C., has given us reason to take Patara's history back even further. Patara is renowned as the birthplace of Apollo and is one of the oldest and most imp cities of Lycia. The Hittite King Tudhalia IV ( 1220 B.C.) was known to have said, "I sacrifices and presented gifts while facing Mountain, I erected stelai, and constructed sacred buildings. II What we understand from this is that Patara was known during the Hittite Age as Patar.

As the principal port on the coast of Patara has a long history. For this reason excavations are bound to bring the city's a history to light. We know that the city existed 5th-6th centuries B.C. and that it was save(destruction when it opened its gates to Alex During the wars of Alexander's successors, enjoyed considerable importance as a naval bi which capacity it was occupied by Antigonus i B.C. and by Demetrios at the time of his siege of Rhodes in 304. In the 3rd century B.C., the city with the rest of Lycia under Egyptian control. period it bore the Egyptian name Arsinoe; this did not survive beyond the Egyptian rule. Patara was re-captured by Antiochus III in 190 B.C., uttered the saying "Caput gentis", that is, Ancestors' Capital" to describe Patara, which exalted it above all the other cities.

Patara had a three-vote right in the 1 League, like the cities of Xanthos, Tlos, Olympos Myra. The League generally held its 11 conferences in Patara, which was its harbor a Patara, which didn't lose its importance during the Roman Empire, was also the seat of the F provincial governor, who turned it into a port from which the Roman fleet maintained contact with eastern provinces. In the meantime, Patara was harbor where crops harvested in Anatolia v stored and kept for shipment to Rome. A Andriace, silos were built here to store grain during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, who had visited Patara with his wife Sabina and stayed there for a short period.

During the Roman Age, Patara, which became the capital of both the Lycian Pamphylian provinces, also became famous as 01 Apollo's soothsaying centers. Ancient writers refer to Patara as birthplace of Apollo as well as the home 0 important oracle, who they say interpreted or during the winter in Patara and during the sun in Delos. During the Byzantine period, Patara again lost none of its importance, and became a Christian center of some significance, as St. Nicholas, whom we know as Santa Claus, was born here. St. Paul set out for Rome by boarding a ship from Patara. However unfortunately, subsequent to this period apparently rejected by the gods and saints alike, harbor of Patara, which was 1 ,600 meters long 400 meters wide, silted up which prevented going vessels from entering it. This meant that city gradually lost its importance. Since then the city has gradually been covered with sand dunes, witch has given it the appearance of a desert resulting the slow obliteration of all the ruins left standing.