Istlada was a small settlement located approximately 1 km north of Gökkaya port, behind Aşırlı Island. Today, the region is known as Hayıtlı. It is surrounded by Hoyran to the north, Tyberissos to the west, and Simena and Teimiusa to the southwest.
Although not mentioned in ancient literary sources, the name Istlada is attested in inscriptions discovered at the site. Tomb inscriptions indicate that during the Roman period the settlement was subject to Myra, the major metropolis of the region, although it may have functioned as an independent community for a time during the Hellenistic period.
Most of the remains are located on the southeastern slope of a hill that extends in a northeast–southwest direction parallel to the coastline. The remains of numerous houses, constructed with finely cut stone walls on terraced slopes, are well preserved. Many doorframes and lintels are still in situ.
No evidence can be attributed to the Dynastic period; all surviving remains date to the Hellenistic period or later. Nearly all of the approximately 30 sarcophagi with Lycian-style ogival lids found in and around the small plain south of the residential area belong to the Roman period.
References:
Çevik, N. 2021. Lykia Kitabı: Arkeolojisi, Tarihi ve Kültürüyle Batı Antalya, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
Marksteiner, T. 1996. “Der Istlada Survey: Die Kampagne 1994,” AST 13.2, 89–102.
Marksteiner, T. & A. Konecny. 1997. “Der Istlada-Survey: Die Kampagne 1995,” AST 16.2, 463–475.
Schuler, E. 2006. “Inschriften aus dem Territorium von Myra in Lykien: Istlada,” Chiron 36, 395–451.
Images:
Antalya KTM
Bora Bilgin, 2022
Tayfun Bilgin, 2022
Reha Özer, 2022