Demre is a town and district in the

Antalya Province Antalya Province ( tr, ) is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visi ...

on the Mediterranean coast of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, named after the river Demre. Demre is the

Lycia Lycia ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is ...

n town of Myra, the home of Saint Nicholas of Myra. The district was known as ''Kale'' until it was renamed in 2005. Until the 1920s the majority of people who lived in Demre ( Myra) were

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...

. At that time this majority migrated to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

as part of the 1923

population exchange between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...

. The abandoned Greek villages in the region are a striking reminder of this exodus. Abandoned Greek houses can still be seen at Demre and the regions of Kalkan,

Kaş Kaş (; el, Αντίφελλος, translit=Antífellos, translit-std=ISO) is a small fishing, diving, yachting and tourist town, and a district of Antalya Province of Turkey, 168 km west of the city of Antalya. As a tourist resort, it is re ...

and Kayaköy, a Greek ghost town. A small population of Turkish farmers moved into the region when the Greeks migrated. The region is popular with tourists today, particularly

pilgrims who visit the tomb of Saint Nicholas.

Geography

Demre is on the coast of the Teke peninsula, west of the bay of Antalya, with the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğird ...

behind. The mountains are forested and the coastal strip is made of good soil brought down by the mountain rivers. The climate is the typical Mediterranean pattern of hot dry summers and warm wet winters. Before the tourism boom began in the 1980s the local economy depended on agriculture, which is still important today. The villages of Demre grow

pomegranates The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean region. It was introduc ...

and citrus fruits and now a large quantity of fruits and vegetables all year round in greenhouses. Also with its rich history, attractions like the island of

Kekova Kekova, also named ''Caravola''Bertarelli (1929), p.134 ( Greek: ''Dolichiste''), is a small Turkish island near Demre (Demre is the Lycian town of Myra) district of Antalya province which faces the villages of Kaleköy (ancient Simena) ...

, the sea and warm weather, this coast is very popular with holidaymakers from Turkey and all over Europe, although Demre still does not have the high volume of tourists enjoyed by districts nearer Antalya Airport. Some local handicrafts like rug making, and events such as the annual camel wrestling festival bring in extra income. The local cuisine includes fish and other seafood from the Mediterranean. File:Unnamed Road, 07570 Kaleüçağız-Demre-Antalya, Turkey - panoramio (12).jpg, Rocky coast in Demre File:Unnamed Road, 07570 Kaleüçağız-Demre-Antalya, Turkey - panoramio (14).jpg, A view of coastal homes and the castle File:Ancient Lycian Tombs - 2014.10 - panoramio.jpg, Ancient

n Tombs overlooking the coast File:Unnamed Road, 07570 Kaleüçağız-Demre-Antalya, Turkey - panoramio (11).jpg,

Demre Castle Demre is a town and district in the Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, named after the river Demre. Demre is the Lycian town of Myra, the home of Saint Nicholas of Myra. The district was known as ''Kale'' until it was rena ...

File:Demre - panoramio (6).jpg, A local mosque

Demographics

The district has a population of 25,078 according to the 2010 census. The town itself has 15,899 inhabitants. Demre has one municipality (Beymelek) and nine villages. The populations (2007) of the main centres are shown in the table (Municipalities are shown in bold)

History

See Myra for details of the history and archaeology of the city of Myra (today's Demre) and the history of Saint Nicholas of Myra (

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

). Myra was one of the most important cities in ancient

. Coins have been found dating back to 300 BC, but logically the city must have been founded centuries earlier. The city thrived as part of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

and many public buildings were built. In February 2021, Akdeniz University researchers led by Nevzat Çevik announced the discovery of dozens of 2,200-year-old

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terra ...

sculptures with inscriptions in Myra. Archaeologists also revealed some material remains of the Hellenistic theater made of

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, ...

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...

, and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

. The figurines with partly preserved paint contained the appearances of men, women, cavalry, animals, some Greek deities and the names of artists.

Places of interest

* A number of tombs with a particular local style. * The Roman theatre and other remains of Roman Myra, in the town of Demre. * Tombs carved into the rocks. * The church of St Nicholas of Myra, honoring the bishop of Myra and the man popularly known as

. * The antique cities of Andriake and

Simena Simena ( grc, Σίμηνα) was a town on the coast of ancient Lycia, 60 stadia from Aperlae. The ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'' calls the town Somena (Σόμηνα). Its site is located near Kaleköy, Turkey. Grave inscriptions and coin finds ...

* A boat trip to the islands and sunken ruins of

References

External links