The ruins of the lost civilization of Lycia, which inspired today's US democracy

The Anatolian peninsula, in present-day Türkiye, was the cradle of various peoples in ancient times, greatly influenced by the Greeks.

Derinkuyu: a huge underground city that was discovered by chance
Nukas Sakdari: a Christian monastery erected in a hidden and almost impossible place

One of these peoples was the Lycians, who lived in southern Anatolia. They had their own language and alphabet, both derived from Greek. Few traces of it remain, especially in tombs. Their funerary monuments were one of their distinctive features, since they combined a Persian tradition - the construction of tombs in rock walls - with typical features of Greek architecture, such as pediments and Ionic capitals. They were tombs built at a certain height, perhaps for show and to avoid looters, but today there is nothing left inside them that can be studied by archaeologists.

Lycia was an influential region in its time. The Lycians were good archers and traders, and they lived in a mountainous region that made possible invasions difficult, which did not prevent them from being finally subdued by Alexander the Great. As a curiosity, the Lycian League functioned with a system of representation that served as inspiration for the current democracy of the United States when it was formed at the end of the 18th century. Another fact worth mentioning is that in a city of Lycia, Batara, Saint Nicholas of Bari was born, a Christian bishop whose figure is the one that gave rise to the current Santa Claus.

About this lost civilization, Street Gems published an interesting video showing its ruins and explaining its features, briefly reviewing its history:

You can see some images from the video here. Here we see Ionic columns in the ancient coastal city of Patara in southwestern Lycia, the birthplace of St. Nicholas.

Ancient Lycian tombs in the city of Dalyan, in the Turkish province of Muğla. These tombs built into rock walls were the usual burial sites of the Lycian elite, the only ones who could afford such constructions. They were carved directly into the rock. The largest tomb seen in this image is unfinished.

Lycian sarcophagi on the island of Kekova, located opposite the ancient Lycian coastal city of Simena (today Kalekoy). These sarcophagi were the burial places of those who could not afford the expensive tombs carved into rock walls.

The ancient Lycian amphitheater of Patara, a typically Greek construction that indicates the great influence that Greece had in Lycia.