The village of Kale was
set on the ancient city of Simena. From inscriptions at this
site, we can date the city to the ninth century B.C. The Simena
fortress was used in the Middle Ages. There is a temple and
a stoa connected to the temple inside this fortress. Here there
is also a theater with seven row of seats carved into rocks
for an audience of 300.
This is the
smallest theater that was built in a Lycian city.
Above the rock tombs, there is a Roman wall formed by regular
columns and above that there is another wall built in a later
period.
Here one can see traces of three different
eras in a single place. The Turkish-style bath on the
coast bears an inscription saying, “This is a gift to
Emperor Titus from the people of Aperlai, its Parliament
and all the cities of the Lycian Union.” There are many
tombs in this area, including two house-type tombs.
There is an epitaph written in the Lycian language on
a house-type tomb to the north of Kale. When you look
from Kale to Üçagiz, you can see what a naturally secure
port this is.
