Labranda Ruins

Labranda, is a holy area of Zeus Labraundos, is in ancient Karia (South-western Anatolia), 14 km to the north-east of Mylasa city to which it is affiliated. The most ancient findings belong to the year 600 BC.The area that was used as holy area in the 6th and the 5th centuries and then as temple terrace consisted of a single, small, artificial terrace. A war took place in the holy area in 497 BC and Karia army has been defeated by the Persian army with its alliances. The 4th century BC is the most important period for the temple. At the times of the satraps named Mausolos (377 - 352 BC) and Idrieus (351 - 344 BC), this place gained a new appearance. In 355, during the sacrifice festival in Labranda, Mausolos escaped from an assassination attempt on his life at the last moment. Buildings such as a series of artificial terraces, one or two entrance buildings, a small Dor building (probably a fountain building), monumental stairs, two large feast halls (androns), a shed building (called oikoi), Stoa and Zeus Temple surrounded with columns must have been constructed after this event. With the death of Idrieus in 344, such works have been stopped. Because of the big fire disaster that took place in the 4th century BC, the holy area has lost its feature of being a cult place. It is supposed that some competitions were organized in the holy area here during the feast of 5 days.

Great place. There were only archelologists when we visited, so practically had the place for ourselves. The road is not the easiest, with narrow passages and constant stream of trucks. The truck drivers know the road well though and accommodate tourist cars

Amazing ancient archeological site. It's a bit difficult to reach as there is virtually no way of getting there with public transportation, but if you have a car, do not miss it. It's usually very quiet so you get the whole place to yourselves.

It is a must for those travellers who wants to understand more about ancient history

The mining roads interesting, we followed a truck up, the site is interesting, we took a picnic and had lunch up the top, the views are stunning, well worth the drive

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 already ????

Highly recommended! The road is precarious, with heavy truck traffic due to a nearby quarry. The ruins are impressive, the view over the hills simply stunning. On a February mid-week we had the site to ourselves (with a friendly site guard). The toilet was very clean.

The ruins are great to see. The road to reach the ancient city is a bit difficult with a lot of potholes and trucks, therefore I strongly recommend to be careful. But you can be sure that the view and atmosphere totally worth that difficulty. Enjoy the breathtaking view ??