The remains of the ancient city are located at an altitude of 1,350 m on Kavak Mountain, approximately 37 km southwest of Antalya. Since no inscription has been found to clearly identify the city, there are different opinions and interpretations regarding the name of the city. B. İplikçioğlu (2002) suggests, based on a funerary inscription found nearby territory, that the city may be Mnara, the central city of the region referred to as Mnarike in the Patara Road Monument, and argues that the name later recorded as Marmara from the Hellenistic period onward may have evolved from Mnara. F. Onur (2022), drawing particularly on the routes indicated on the Patara Road Monument, proposes that this site is the ancient city of Kosara mentioned on the monument, and also points to the possibility of a period-based name change similar to that seen at Olympos/Korykos.
Despite the dense forest cover and heavy destruction by treasure hunters, agora, parliament buildings, and temple structures were identified. The interior of the parliament building is completely covered with debris due to erosion. The temple was initially thought to be dedicated to Apollo Lykos or Zeus. However, it is now believed to be the Temple of Artemis after the 2007 discovery of an inscription in Rhodiapolis, which clearly mentions a Mnara Artemis.
A rectangular structure built right on the edge of the cliff at the southern end of the settlement is also remarkable. It consists of 11 linear rows of seats and an open stage with a background view of the entire coastline stretching from Antalya to Phaselis in the west and overlooking the Pamphylian Sea (Gulf of Antalya). Since there is no theater in the city, it is thought that this building was used for open-air meetings/ceremonies and performances. The similar structures that can be seen in the Psidia cities are further north, but this is the only example among the Lycian cities.
References:
Bayburtluoğlu, C. 2004. Lykia, Suna-İnan Kıraç Akdeniz Medeniyetleri Araştırma Enstitüsü, İstanbul.
Çevik, N. 2008. “Northeast Lycia. The New Evidence – The Results from the past ten years from the Bey Mountains Surface Surveys,” Adalya 11, 189–233.
Çevik, N. 2021. Lykia Kitabı: Arkeolojisi, Tarihi ve Kültürüyle Batı Antalya, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
İplikçioğlu, B. 2002. “Doğu ve Kuzeydoğu Lykia-Güneybatı Pisidia Epigrafik-Tarihi Coğrafi Yüzey Araştırmaları Projesi 2000 Yılı Çalışmaları,” AST 19/2, 127–132.
Onur, F. 2022. “Lykia’da Yürütülen Antik Yol Araştırmaları ve Bölgenin Tarihi Coğrafyasına Katkıları,” in Antalya’nın Arkeolojik Mirası II, eds. M. Demirel et al., Ankara, 498–525.
Onur, F. 2024. “Notes on the Border Regions of Lycia: Oktapolis, Milyas and Mnarike,” in Proceedings of the Symposium New Research on Greek Epigraphy in Lycia, eds. F. Onur & C. Schuler, İstanbul, 77-105.
Image sources:
Bora Bilgin, 2023
Tayfun Bilgin, 2023