Pillar tombsAt Kinik, some 80km/50mi southeast of Fethiye, an
ancient road leads up to the ruins of Xanthos, rediscovered in
the 19th century by Sir Charles Fellows. Once the capital of the
kingdom of Lycia, the city lies in the valley of the River
Xanthos (now Esen Cay), which separates the mountains (Ak Dag,
3,024m/9,922ft) from the upland region which falls away towards
the coast. Lycia has been called "the oldest republic in the
world" - a league of 20 cities governed by a popular assembly
and a president. The most notable monuments of Xanthos, its
pillar tombs, have no parallel either in Greek or in Oriental
art. They first appear in the sixth century B.C. and disappear
from the scene in the middle of the fourth century.In the
seventh century B.C. Xanthos came under the control of the kings
of Lydia. In 545 B.C. it was destroyed by the Persians led by
Harpagos, and Lycia remained under Persian domination until the
end of the fifth century. From the second century B.C. Xanthos
enjoyed a period of renewed