Lycia Rock Tombs — Attraction in Kaş

Lycian Tombs are elaborate funeral chambers carved into cliff faced, generally distinctive to the seafaring Lycia people native to the southern coast of modern Turkey. Archeological research suggests the tombs were built in "high" places somewhat close to residential towns to place departed ancestors closer to the Lycian concept of heaven. Some scripts state that the Lycian people believed their dead were carried to the afterlife by magical winged creatures that resembled sirens.

While the seafaring Lycian people were a distinct political group with its own national identity, their architecture was heavily influenced by their Greek, Roman, and Persian neighbors. With an independent history reaching back around 2000 BCE, the Lycian people were eventually assimilated by the Greeks and the Romans.

There are four types of Lycian Tombs: Temple-style tombs, Sarcophagus Tombs, Pillar Tombs and House-style Tombs. The tombs found here are more akin to smallish house-style tombs.

Reaching the tombs is easy, but they're somewhat difficult to spot. There is a residential road that leads to a stone staircase between houses with a yellow and black sign pointing upwards. Depending on the season, the area may be surrounded by flowers.

These stairs lead up to the first tomb, which can be looked inside. The stairs end here, but there are steep, rugged stone "steps" leading upwards to the left, which reaches another tomb. From here, there is a worn stone cliff that can be scaled to reach yet another few small tombs. Follow the power cables that connect the light poles, and most of the tombs can be visited.

There are another few tombs visible on the cliff from the road, but these are behind private residential properties and can only be seen, not walked to.

Parking is scarce, and the roads are narrow, so expect to drive to nearby roads before walking back to the site.

As a bonus, this site is hardly ever crowded, making it a great place to rest. There are also spectacular views over the nearby town and...

Google maps only show the one small site with small rock steps up to the 3 smaller tombs. There is a second site 100 yards up the road with nice steps up between two houses that you can see the nicer bigger tombs there is a clear yellow sign at the side of the road indicating the steps up. The 2 sites are not linked easily, so it is best to visit both. The best site at the arched tomb you can go left up to a three tier tomb or right at the arched tomb trickily up to 2 smaller but also nice tombs. Always follow the lighting poles and cables. All these pics have been taken by me at these 2 sites. I think I found 8 tombs in total. If you found my info useful, please give me a like, and I hope you loved Kaş as...

To reach the tombs one would need to climb over boulders and rocks which isn't suitable for visitors with kids and people with age. The tombs themselves are left there without any signs or any explanation on its history. This is disappointing and the local government should add some signs. The view you would get from the top is definitely worth the climb. First of all the entrance is between two normal buildings There is a yellow signboard which should be looked out for to not accidentally enter someone's backyard. Throughout the journey FOLLOW THE LAMPS. They are placed next to each tomb which makes it so that one isn't lost. It is difficult but a nice...