Syangela - Alazeytin Castle.

At the weekend the rain clouds retreated and the sun came out again.  After a week of urban walking it was a chance to get back to the countryside and resume Jake the dog's archaeological education. 

We headed out towards Çiftlik with the aim of visiting Syangela.  As usual we got lost, argued about whose fault it was that we'd got lost, back-tracked to the Town Council building in Yalı where a very helpful Osman showed me the route on Google earth, printed out a map and smilingly sent me on my way.  

Syangela is one of eight Lelegian towns around Bodrum. Not much is known about the history of these sites, but they pre-date the Carian cities and were probably at their most populous from the 7th to 4th centuries BC.  We know from Strabo that Mausolus, the Carian ruler, forced the citizens of all the Lelegian towns except Myndos and Syangela to move to Halikarnasus (Bodrum) in the 4th century BC.  It is also on record that Syangela  had a governor called Pigres, paid a tribute of a talent as a member of the Delian League and minted silver coins with griffin heads in 500BC.   All the Lelegian sites are found on hills with panoramic views and sturdy defensive walls with frequent look-out towers surrounding their houses. This didn't however prevent the city being sacked by the Persians.  The wall that Jake is standing beside below is  a typical Lelegian wall:  built using roughly dressed smallish stones. 

This is a good site to compare the Lelegian and Carian building styles. In the centre of Syangela there is a single tower (below) obviously Carian in style with its much larger well dressed stones.

Having said all this, there is also the possibility that this isn't the site of Syangela at all. In recent years, a new discovery has cast doubt on the identification of the remains. Either way it's a pleasant walk to a Lelegian fortress.

Update - 20/2/15  - I've just been to wonderful lecture on  The Lelegians by Dr. Adnan Diler and was able to ask my question about Syangela directly.  It seems that Syangela was originally founded on Kaplan Dağ, close to but not at Alazeytin and was moved by Mausolus to the site now called Theangela.   

The route:  From Bodrum follow the signs to Yalı-Çiftlik.  After Kızılağac village look out for a left turning sign-posted to Alazeytin. Follow this road up through the trees and the first houses of Alazeytin and you come to a junction - the road divides into three. You can't miss it as there is a stone quarry and a flag pole in front of you.  Take the right hand road. It's quite rough so you may want to leave your car just after this turning. Follow this  track passing a house on the left, then a white building on the right and you will come to a track leading to a few houses on the right. You can park here if your car has made it this far.  Walk towards these houses and at the large covered well on the right, turn left and follow the garden wall. By the time you get to the end of the wall and turn right you will see a tractor track leading up the hill to the site. 

Labranda

As promised, a short guide dedicated to Labranda. 

We are heading for the top of the mountain in the middle of the photograph. The first time I drove to Labranda, I thought the car axle would fall off as we had to bump over a pebbly river bed and scrabble up scree, but much progress has been made in the past 3 decades and now there is a "proper" highway almost all the way to the site.

Almost...the last kilometre is a bit rough and I wouldn't want to visit in the rain. As I drive up, and look down at the fantastic view,  I have to remind myself that in the 4th century BC, once a year, pilgrims walked or rode the 14 kms from Milas along a 8m wide sacred way, to spend 5 days sacrificing, feasting, playing sports and celebrating in honour of Zeus. It's apt then that we are visiting on the first day of Kurban Bayram - Sacrifice Festival - Eid Al-Adha.

The name Labranda or Labraunda is thought to come from  the word "Labrys" a double headed axe which was the cult symbol of Zeus Labraudos and a sanctuary to him was established around 650BC on this  mountain top.  It was originally probably just a cleared plateau with spring water that drew devotees from Mylasa. The sanctuary developed immensely in the 4th century BC due to the influence of Hecatomnus and his family. 

A brief history lesson: Hecatomnus, a native Carian ruling Milas as a Persian satrap, had 3 sons; Mausolus, Idrieus and Piksodarus and 2 daughters; Artemissa and Ada. Mausolus married Artemissa, and Idrieus married Ada. Mausolus succeeded his father in 377BC and at a sacrificial feast at the sanctuary at Labranda, narrowly avoided being assassinated.  To celebrate his survival, he embarked on a building program that was continued after his death in 352BC  by his brother Idrieus until his own death in 344BC.  The Roman period is represented by two bath houses and Christianity appears in the shape of two churches and a baptistry.

The Temple to Zeus probably planned by Mausolus but constructed by his brother Idrieus. 

Above is one of the two "Andrones" or dining rooms built to hold feasts; the walls still stand to 8m high. There was one Androne for favoured guests where about 40 men would eat enjoying the view from the large windows  and one for less important visitors. The majority of visitors would camp at the site.

The word "Labranda" is synonymous with water in Milas. For years it was the only drinking water available and there are 32 spring houses between the site and Milas.  The spring under the giant split rock at the top of the site was probably the reason the sanctuary was originally developed here. 

There are over 100 tombs visible today outside the site. This is the most impressive, just above the sacred terrace, with 5 sarcophagi inside and a vaulted ceiling.

There are also rock cut tombs above the site and many individual sarcophagi covered by a massive stone gabled lids on the way up to and after the sanctuary. 

In antiquity there would have been many priests , workmen and farmers living on and around Labranda. Now there's just the guardian.  Gulsum will take your 5TL in exchange for a ticket and sell you a jar of honey for 15TL. She also gave us a large stick to keep off her dogs that took offense to Jake's visit.