Myra Demre Antalya

Myra Demre Antalya
Location
Myra is located in the province of Antalya on the coast of the Teke Peninsula, west
of Antalya Bay with a back drop of the Taurus Mountains.
History
Ancient Myra was part of the Lycian League a democratic federation which led to the
development of future modern democratic systems. The modern name for Myra
is Demre which has been taken from the nearby river, theDemre Cay, and this ancient
city is famous for being the home of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus). Byzantine church is
located in the Lycian ancient city of Myra which is today modern Kale or Demre , and it
houses the tomb of St. Nicholas of Myra, better known as Santa Claus, along with
excellent mosaics and murals.
St Nicholas
There are very few historical proven facts about Nicholas; he was born inPatara in 300
AD, in his youth he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Egypt and Palestine after
which he became bishop of Myra. He was tortured and imprisoned during the Diocletian
persecutions and released after the accession of Constantine. Several miracles have
been attributed to him both before and after his death, around 352 AD, and his Greek
Orthodox cult was particularly popular in Russia.
The remains of his body were stolen in 1087 by Italian merchants and taken to Bari in
Italy. He is patron saint of mariners, merchants, bakers, travellers and of course
children. His representations in art are as varied as his alleged miracles and his remains
are preserved in the church of San Nicola in Bari where still today an oily substance
greatly valued for its medicinal powers and known as Manna di S. Nicola is said to flow
from.
Most of his legends involve him helping the young and the poor; one story tells of a
butcher luring 3 boys into his house during a time of great famine and murdered them
while they slept. He cut them up and placed their parts in barrels of salt with the
intention of selling them on as food. An angel told Nicholas of this diabolical act and he
quickly went to the house and brought the boys back to life. Another tale tells of a very
poor man about to force his 3 daughters into a life of prostitution as they had no
marriage dowries and the Saint saved them from this terrible future by leaving bags of
gold in their garden (or dropped down the chimney) thus enabling them to be married.
St Nicholas Church
After his death a church is believed to have been constructed over his tomb which
would have been damaged during an earthquake in 539 AD, was repaired and restored
again in the late 6th century by Emperor Justinian. It was again damaged in the Arab
raids of the 7th century, and the structure that is seen today is what has survived since
it was rebuilt again in the 8th century. It was attacked by Arabs in 1034, restored again
in 1043 by Emperor Constantine IX who added a walled monastery nearby. In the mid
19th century the church was in very bad condition and it was Russians who went on to
restore it twice, which was partially successful and added the bell tower and upper
storey at that time. Throughout the church are excellent marble mosaic pavements and
faded wall paintings, it has three side aisles, two on the south have chapels at the east
end and a room further on from the north aisle gives access to the upper storey. There
is a groined vault covering the nave that has stepped seats for the priests, there is a
covered aisle in the apse, and the stone altar is surrounded by four broken pillars and it
is in the south aisle where the empty tomb of the Saint sits.
Opening Hours of the Church
The church is only used for religious services for one day every year on the 6th
December to celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas. This begins with a Greek Orthodox
Divine Liturgy then a service in which Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant clergy can
participate and the Cardinal Archbishop of Bari in Italy is also represented.
There is another festival that takes place in Demre in early December every year and is
the International St. Nicholas Symposium.
Myra had a vast Christian community of Greeks living here until they were forced to
leave during the Turk/Greek population exchange of 1923 and many abandoned Greek
houses can still be seen all over this region and particularly in the ghost village
of Kayakoy. Some of the best examples of Lycian rock tombs are also here and
Christian pilgrims still flock to visit the church and tomb of St. Nicholas.
Closeby Places to Visit

Close by is Kekova Island where you can swim and snorkel and see the sunken city
of Simena .

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