Istlada is a small but a
fascinating ancient city in the Perlin region. You can get to
Islada from the village of Davazlar along the Finike-Kas highway.
A four-kilometer-long road which branches to the east takes
you from the village of Kapakli to tombs in the Hoykan area.
Here stands the Hoyran Monument in all its magnificence situated
across
from a primary
school. The monument is dated to the fourth century B.C..
The sad-looking monument which rests in the shadow of trees
was made into a house-type tomb by carving from a rock. The
tomb has a round top and in its pediment, there are pictures
of three people standing. On the wide frieze below, there
is a picture of a man lying on a stretcher.
In front of this figure, there is a
table and four armed men. Behind it, there are two men
and two women. You will notice an inscription written
on the door, which has been mostly obscured over time.
On the eastern and northern sides of the rock tombs,
you can see sarcophagi, tombs made in stelo style, and
water tanks. All these tombs were made in Roman times.
. Behind these sarcophagi, there is a house-type tomb
called the Guvercinli Mezar (Tomb with Pigeons) carved
into the rock.
The tomb is decorated with rooster,
sphinx and pigeon figures and these are still visible
today. On the northern side of the tomb, there is a
frieze decorated with depictions of the owners of the
tomb and their relatives. The tomb was built in the
ninth century B.C.
There are other remains below this area called Hoyran.
You can only drive there from the Kekova road. Two kilometers
before Üçagiz, if you take the road that goes from Çevreli
to Kapakli, after driving for 1.5 kilometers, you will
see a magnificent Lycian tomb carved on a rock in the
place called Bucak. This tomb dated to the fourth century
B.C. has two figures sitting on top of it.
If you continue driving from here, before you reach
Kapakli, you will see more ruins in the seaside area
of a place called Enisdibi. If you follow the dirt road,
this will take you to several interesting ruins called
Hayitli along Gökkaya Bay. The sarcophagi here are built
among other architectural structures and the houses
have survived to our day, including their foundation
stones.
Next to these structures, you will see the apse of a
church. This will give you the chance to see works from
the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods all in
a single place.
Istlada on Gökkaya Bay is connected to the parts in
Hoyran where there are sarcophagi. It is very easy to
climb from Gökkaya Bay to this point. You can reach
here by climbing next to the church remains in the bay.