Sidyma is located in Dodurga Village in the Seydikemer district of Muğla Province. It was one of the 23 cities of the Lycian League, founded in 168 BCE. According to the Patara Road Monument, Sidyma lies 104 stades (approximately 20 km) from Xanthos. Beginning with Charles Fellows, most 19th-century travelers mention both the ancient city and the modern village of Dodurga, which was established adjacent to the site. Since then, the modern settlement has expanded and now spreads over much of the ancient remains. Apart from a limited number of surveys, no systematic excavations have been conducted. The harbor settlement of Kalabatia, noted on the Patara Road Monument as being 4.5 km from Sidyma, may have functioned as its port.
Approximately one hundred tomb structures of varying types have been identified at Sidyma, the earliest dating to the 5th century BCE. More than half of these are simple pigeonhole-type rock-cut tombs. The earliest architectural remains of the city belong to the Dynastic period. Portions of the fortification walls, constructed during the Dynastic and Hellenistic periods, are visible on the slopes of the acropolis hill rising to the southwest of the city center.
Only the upper seating rows of a theater built against the acropolis hill are preserved today. All major public buildings on the plain in front of the theater—including the agora, stoa, sebasteion, baths, and gymnasium—date to the Roman period. No temple structure has been identified apart from the sebasteion. Remains of Byzantine-period churches and chapels are also present.
The best-preserved monuments at Sidyma are its tombs. One particularly significant example, located near the village center, survives almost to roof level. According to its inscription, it was built for Flavia Nanne, an abbess of the imperial cult, and is dated to the 1st century CE. Another notable tomb near the village center, resembling a sarcophagus, is distinguished by its coffered ceiling carved from a single block. Of the 25 coffers, nine are decorated with engraved portraits.
References:
Fellows, C. 1841. An Account of Discoveries of Lycia: Being a Journal Kept During a Second Excursion in Asia Minor, Londra.
Benndorf, O. & G. Niemann. 1884. Reisen in Lykien und Karien (Reisen im südwestlichen Kleinasien I), Viyana.
Dardaine, S. & E. Frézouls. 1985. “Sidyma: étude topographique,” Ktèma 10, 211-217.
Arslan, M. 1987. “Lykia’dan Bir Şehir: Sidyma,” Eski Eserler ve Müzeler Bülteni, Sayı 9, 22-29, Ankara.
Takmer, B. 2010. “Stadiasmus Patarensis için Parerga 2: Sidyma I. Yeni Yazıtlarla Birlikte Yerleşim Tarihçesi,” Gephyra 7, 95-136.
Çevik, N. 2021. Lykia Kitabı: Arkeolojisi, Tarihi ve Kültürüyle Batı Antalya, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
Images:
C. Fellows, 1841
O. Bendorff & G. Niemann, 1884
S. Dardain & E. Frézouls, 1985
Kurt Böhne
Bora Bilgin, 2022, 2024
Tayfun Bilgin, 2022, 2024