Labranda Ören Yeri — Attraction in Milas

If you survive the drive getting here (more on that at the end of this review), you will find Labranda (Labraunda) to be quite a fascinating historical site. I spent almost three hours here on a perfectly beautiful day in spring 2023, and only two other people showed up, so Labranda is definitely off the beaten tourist path. That means it is very quiet, unspoiled, you won't be constantly eagle-eyed by over-zealous caretakers as happens at places like Eleusis and Delphi, no graffiti, and you can physically experience the site in its entirety, even scrambling inside Zeus' rock cleft atop the cliff. There is also no charge to park or enter the site. The downside, however, is a lack of off-street parking (you have to park along the roadway), primitive toilet, and a bit of safety risk with the steepness and cliff. Definitely not accessible to wheelchairs. Some reviewers have complained about lack of informational signage, but I counted at least ten informational signs, all in excellent condition in both Turkish and English. Famous in antiquity for its oracle of Zeus, his cult here dated from the 6th century BC, but most of what you see today is from the 4th century BC. Zeus' oracle was (almost) unique in antiquity, it is conjectured, for using "bejeweled" fish as its method of divination. The remains include a large Hypostyle Fountain which was calculated to hold more than 2000 cubic feet of water(60 x 25 feet; "Hypostyle" means a building that has a roof supported by a row of columns). Labranda consists of a series of constructed terraces going uphill from the roadway, mostly connected by stairways (one of which is quite grand). The Temple of Zeus lies at the foot of the cliff just to the west of the cleft rock. The cleft in that rock, by the way, is split so wide that you can walk right through it, and at the back and below it (opposite the cliff face) some ancient stairs can be seen cut into the rock. That dramatic cleft rock, coupled with the fresh water spring directly below it, was the original attraction for a sanctuary here. The mythological tale is that Zeus threw a thunderbolt into the rock which split it. The most vertical buildings on site are "androns" or entertainment buildings for men dating from the 4th century BC. Atop the cliff there is a prominent rock with a rectangular hole cut into it, but it is a mystery since there was no signage concerning it. Only after my visit to Labranda did I realize there may be additional ruins further south (see with satellite image at coordinates 37.404176, 27.805689), but I did not visit that spot. Since there were a series of tombs and sepulchers along the ancient Sacred Way, perhaps that is what lies there, but that's a guess. Labranda is definitely worth visiting, but I need to add a strong cautionary note. The 9 mile (14 km) drive to Labranda from Milas can be rather harrowing. There are immense marble quarries operated by Kultan Mining to the north, and consequently the Milas Karpuzlu Yolu roadway gets jammed with huge trucks trying to drive as rapidly as possible. That's a problem because the roadway is terribly inconsistent in both width and surface quality, such that there are times when you need to drive around sharp/blind corners with barely room for one vehicle to pass. I had to deal with at least 60 trucks barreling at me along this twisty drive, and that led to several near misses (of the head-on collision variety). Not for the faint of heart. Presumably, that roadway is built along much of the ancient Sacred Way that connected Labranda with Mylasa (today's Milas) when the oracle was...

Milas District Governorate Milas Labranda Ancient City

LABRANDA SITE

Labranda, the sanctuary of Zeus Labrandos, is 14 km from Milas. It is located in the northeast. The oldest finds belong to about 600 BC. In the 6th and 5th centuries, the sanctuary consisted of a small artificial leveling that was later used as a temple terrace. In 497, a war was fought in the sanctuary and the Carian army was defeated by the Persian army together with their allies Miletus. BC.4th century. It is the most important period of the temple. During the time of the satraps Mausolos (377-352) and Idrieus (351-344), this place takes on a new appearance. At the annual sacrifice feast in Labranda in 355, Mausolos survived an assassination at the last moment. It is because of this happy salvation that extensive construction activities were initiated here, including a series of artificial terraces, a small Doric building, a monumental staircase, two large banquet halls (androns), porch structure (oikoi), stoa, and the Temple of Zeus with columns. With the death of Idrieus in 344, these construction activities came to an end. The use of the sanctuary as a cult place ended with the great fire disaster that took place in the 4th century AD. The sanctuary in Labranda starts from Mylasa and is 8 m. It was reached by the holy road that was wide. The pavement traces on this road have been preserved until today. The area is accessed by one of the two entrance buildings. The building, called the Doric building, is located just east of the south propylon building with its irregular formation close to a rectangle. It is a Doric structure, facing north, with a four-column front courtyard, and a marble façade. This small building was included in the bath complex during the Roman Period. The Propylon area is bounded on the north by a wall showing impressive masonry, opening to long rooms with four wide passages above it. These long rooms are storage or treasury rooms. They form part of a large building complex. This is the first building started by the Hekatomnus Dynasty. It is a temple-like building with a rectangular cella and a large rectangular recess at the back. It is the best preserved building of the settlement. It is the same as the Andron of Mausolos in plan. Inside the cella, traces of low plastered benches with ottomans used during the holy feast can be found. In the niche on the back wall, the statues of the king family Idrieus and his wife Ada and Zeus were hidden. OikThis building was probably used both as the archive of the sanctuary, as well as for the working place of the priests and the holy banquet. There is a steep slope to the north of the sanctuary. It is 15 m above the temple on its southern slope. There is a long tomb. The burial chamber and its entrance are protruding vaults. The roof is made of granite in the Doric order. 200 m from the sanctuary. There is a stadium to the west, the back of which is reinforced with a...

Flintstone houses ⛰️🏚️🤠

I don't know what was more astonishing... The once 4 lane mega highway that quickly funnels down into single lane bottleneck road paved in soap with massive 18-wheelers flying up the side of this twisty mountain pass or these ancient tombs from over 4,800 years ago just off the side of said suicide road 🤔

I'm not exaggerating when I say no less than three times we truly thought there would have been a massive accident with serious fatalities when multiple semi trucks met each other coming around these crazy sharp slippery corners driving like bats out of hell 🚛💨🦇🔥🔥🔥🔥

We got here pretty late in the day and actually got to have an amazing sunset to enjoy while exploring these ruins. The guard who lives here 24/7 was very friendly but was not overly happy about giving us a very quick nickel tour before he was tossing us out on our ear since we were there after hours 😂🤣😂 I completely understand. No one wants to work after hours doing overtime while their dinner is getting cold 🤗🤷‍♂️💪

I was really impressed with these tombs carved out of massive boulders. Things like this simply astonish me because I have trouble comprehending just how much time energy and effort would have been needed to make something like this back in the day 🤯

There were some really great temples and an amphitheater here as well. Overlooking the valley with the sunset made this place extra special for sure 👌👌👌

I even got to have some mountain pup love! This doggy was super cool and very protective of this site. He had crazy gentle eyes though... Almost as if he knew all the secrets of the universe like a big furry Buddha... I miss this pup...