The ruins of the city are situated on a hill just south of Sahilkılınçlı village, approximately 3 km north of Aperlai, between Kaş and Demre. Remains dating to the Dynastic period—particularly the pillar tombs characteristic of Lycia—indicate that the city was founded before the 4th century BCE.
During the period of the Lycian League, Apollonia belonged to a sympoliteia of four cities under the leadership of Aperlai, together with Simena and Isinda. The city likely derived its name from the god Apollo in the Hellenistic period, while its Dynastic-period name remains unknown.
The Lycian name Aprlla, which appears on certain Dynastic-period coins, is generally attributed to the nearby city of Aperlai; however, some scholars suggest that it may instead refer to Apollonia. According to Martin Zimmermann, Apollonia was in fact known as Aperlai during the Dynastic period, while the settlement located 3 km to the south—later known as Aperlai—was at that time only a small port. From the Hellenistic period onward, this port settlement expanded and adopted the name Aperlai, whereas the older inland settlement may have received the new Hellenistic name Apollonia.
This hypothesis is supported by the absence of Dynastic-period remains at Aperlai, in contrast to the numerous monuments of that period at Apollonia, including six Lycian pillar tombs. The small fortress at the summit of the acropolis hill also dates to the Dynastic period.
The extensive group of sarcophagi on the northeastern slopes of the acropolis hill mostly dates to the Roman period. In addition, the site includes two churches, a bath, a small Hellenistic theater with ten rows of seats, and numerous cisterns.
References:
Çevik, N. 2021. Lykia Kitabı: Arkeolojisi, Tarihi ve Kültürüyle Batı Antalya, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
Wurster, W. W. 1976. “Antike Siedlungen in Lykien. Vorbericht über ein Survey-Unternehmen im. Sommer 1974,” AA 48, 23–49.
Zimmermann, M. 1992. Untersuchungen zur historischen Landeskunde Zentrallykiens, Bonn.
Images:
W. W. Wurster, 1976
Volker Höhfeld, 1997
Ertuğrul Anıl, 2022
Tayfun Bilgin, 2022
Bora Bilgin, 2022, 2023
Reha Özer, 2023