Demre, a small city with many names, here are just a few of them - Demre, Mira, Calais. The city was repeatedly captured, destroyed and rebuilt.

During the Roman Empire (4th century AD), Demre was already a large enough city to have its own bishop, Nikolai Mirlikiy, better known as Nicholas the Wonderworker (or Santa Claus, although the Turks themselves call him Noel-Baba - "the father of Christmas")

Now the city is a tourist center, uniting several coastal villages, and offering tourists an ideally calibrated cocktail from the sea, the sun, mountains and antiquities.

How to get to Demre

The nearest airport is located in Antalya

Demre is located on highway D400, which connects Fethiye in the west with Antalya in the east and stretches along the Lycian coast. Here along this highway you can reach Demre from Kalkan, Kasha, Finike, and Olympos. The bus ride from Kasha takes about an hour, the tickets cost 5 lire

The city can be reached by following the rather extreme Lycian Way - a 509 km long tracking track. The plot connecting Finike and Demre is 30 km. Go on a marked path away from all the blessings of civilization. But the "immersion in the material" will be maximum.

Hotels Demre

For accommodation in the city there are a number of cheap options near the main square. The most popular among budget travelers is Hotel Sahin. Hotel Andriake is a bit more expensive, so in fact there are more amenities.

A typical representative of middle-class hotels is located on the coast, some distance from the center and tourist sites Topcu Hotel. For those who are used to a five-star holiday - Hoyran Wedre - almost in the center of the city, with good views, excellent local cuisine, a garden and a swimming pool

Beaches

In addition visiting the beaches of the hotels we recommend that you combine the pleasant with the cognitive and go southwest from Demre. Behind the ruins of the old port begins the wide sandy beach of Kaigazy (tourists about its existence do not even guess), the cleanest beach of Suluklu and the pebble beach of Tasbidi

Entertainment, excursions and attractions Demre

The Church of St. Nicholas - the main attraction, the historical and spiritual dominant of the city . The church was destroyed in the 4th century by . e ., as a result of Arab raids and that's why in the 11th century the church was surrounded by a fortress wall, turning it into an impregnable monastery . According to the decree of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I In 1862 the church was reconstructed . A bell tower was built above the lateral limit, familiar to the Orthodox eye, but surprising in combination with the Byzantine architecture . In the church there is a marble sarcophagus in which before the year 1087, the relics of St. Nicholas rested . After the transportation of the relics of Saint to Bari, miracles continue in the temple . Perhaps the monks preserved the mystery of the burial of Nicholas the Miracle-Worker intact, and his relics still rest under the stone slabs . The church is open daily: from May to October - from 8-30 to 19-00, from November to April - from 8-30 to 17 . 00 .

Two kilometers to the north of the town center lie the ruins Ancient Worlds . You can get to them on foot, you do not even have to climb high into the mountains . Convenience of access unfortunately has the reverse oron - tourists visiting the World every day, not just a lot, but a lot of . Therefore, to inspect the World better in the early morning or later in the evening . Most of the city is still buried underground, but what lies on the surface is worth inspect . You will see a large amphitheater in the Roman style (it sometimes even hosts performances), the main necropolis with tombs carved in the rocks, "River Cemetery" lying on the slope of the ridge with beautiful bas-reliefs . Access to the ruins is open daily: from April to October - from 8-30 to 19-30, with from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm .

At the same time, 2, 5 km from Demre is the ancient port of the city of Andriak. The strategic port facility - the granary, where in the second century AD e. stored grain before sending to Rome. You will see the mighty outer walls stretching along the river, the main gate, 8 huge halls for grain storage. Photo Demre (4)