Located northeast of Tlos, Kastabara is a fortress settlement on the route leading to the Girdev plateau behind the Akdağlar (Mount Kragos). It sits on a hill known as Deliktaş, south of the Darıözü plateau. It is the largest among nearby settlements such as Zindan, Erikli, Dikmen, and Cemalanı.
Kastabara appears on the Patara Road Monument along the route from Tlos to the Elmalı plain (to ancient Khoma). The settlement remained active until the Byzantine period. The acropolis walls, dated to the Dynastic period, are relatively well preserved, particularly the three defensive towers. To the east of the acropolis and on a nearby low hill lies the necropolis, where most of the sarcophagi date from the Roman period. Only a few remain standing today.
References:
Çevik, N. 2021. Lykia Kitabı: Arkeolojisi, Tarihi ve Kültürüyle Batı Antalya, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
Çevik, N., B. Varkıvanç, İ. Kızgut & F. Gülşen. 2003. ‘A Settlement in Lycia: Darıözü / Kastabara’, Adalya VI, 189-207.
Korkut, T. 2015. Arkeoloji, Epigrafi, Jeoloji, Doğal ve Kültürel Peyzaj Yapısıyla Tlos Antik Kenti ve Teritoryumu, Seydikemer Kaymakamlığı Yayınları 1, Ankara.
Image Sources:
N. Çevik, 2003
T. Korkut, 2015
Ertuğrul Anıl, 2025
Bora Bilgin, 2025
Tayfun Bilgin, 2025
Reha Özer, 2025