Kadyanda Ancient City

Ancient City

A Lycian city hidden in pine forest a thousand metres above Üzümlü — with a rare ancient stadium and sweeping plain views.

Hidden in pine forest about a thousand metres above the town of Üzümlü, northeast of Fethiye, Kadyanda (Cadianda) is an ancient city on the border of Lycia and Caria, cool with mountain air. Its height gave the city both a strong defensive position and a view commanding the Fethiye plain and the distant sea; that panorama is still the first thing to greet visitors today.

The city’s most striking structure is its well-preserved ancient stadium — rare among Lycian cities; with its long flat ground and rows of seats, the arena where athletic contests were held can still be read today. Alongside it, the theatre, baths, agora, temple foundations and thick city walls are scattered among the pines, while Lycian tombs cut into the rock reveal the city’s world of the dead. Kadyanda is reached by a narrow forest road starting from Üzümlü; the final stretch requires a short walk. Entirely away from the crowds, amid the scent of pine and birdsong, it is a place that gives a real sense of discovery.