MUĞLA MUSEUM

Muğla Museum is in the old prison building that is behind the courthouse. At the end of 1992, as the result of the excavations made in Özlüce Village Kaklıcatepe, many animal and plant fossils have been found. With the start of the exhibition of these fossils in 1994, the museum has been opened for visit.

The fossils being exhibited in Muğla Museum belongs to the living creatures that lived 5 - 9 million years before. These creatures have lived on a wide area from Eastern Asia to Spain. The fossils of the creatures of this period have been found in Tervel Basin of Spain, therefore this period is called as Turolian.

In the excavations, fossils of giraffe family, horned creatures, rhinoceros family, hosed mammals, pig family, horse family and carnivorous and many kind of plants. A part of these fossils are exhibited in the natural history part of the museum.

Another part open for visit in Muğla Museum is the ethnography section. Clothes and daily use tools from various parts of Muğla are being exhibited in this section.

Stratonikeia
The archaic city Stratonikeia is in the borders of Eskihisar Village on Yatağan - Milas highway that is 6 - 7 km western of Yatağan District of Muğla.

The city has been established in the 3rd century BC. Syrian King 1st Seleukos gave his wife Stratonike to his son Antiokhos. Antiokhos has established a city in the name of Stratonike, who was first his step mother, and then his wife.

In accordance with Strabon, who is a traveler and a writer, the city was full of very beautiful buildings. From the coins obtained in the excavations made, it is understood that Stratonikeia coins are minted since the date of its gaining its independency from Rhodes in 167 BC and continued until the Gallienus period (253 - 268 AD).

The acropolis of the city is at the top of the mountain in the south. This top is surrounded with a wall. In its north, on a terrace on the slope, on an inscription just below the highway of today, the ruins of a small temple constructed for the emperor can be seen.

There is a theater below this temple. Here, cavea is divided into 9 cuneusas with stairs and there is a single diazoma. The remainders of the stage building have been exposed to a great extent in the excavations made. Over the archaic city, Eskihisar Village, which is left today, is located. The city is surrounded with walls and today, only unimportant projections of the city walls can be seen. In the northeastern corner of the settlement area, lies the ruins of a strong fort made of cut stones and lime mortar. From the inscription stones and column bodies taken from other buildings, it is understood that the building has been repaired.

The main entrance door in the north of the city consists of large blocks. It is made with wide and fine masonry. The ruins show that there was an arch on that door. The door has two entrances. There is a nymphaion between the two door entrances. After the door, an area with columns and a road is seen.

At the middle of the city, the most significant building, bouleuterion where the city assembly meets, is located. The door standing alone just in the west of this building is the entrance door of the area. This was claimed to be Serapis Temple; but the inscriptions found in the excavations have shown that this thought was wrong. On the external wall of Bouleuterion towards north, the price list of Diocletianus and the introduction part relating to the application of it are written in Latin. The seats of this building in the lower part are protected.

In the western part of the city, the building named gymnasion, where the young people were trained in intellectual and physical aspects and made sports activities in Ancient Greek and Rome, exists.

There are chamber graves at the side of the holy road in front of the entrance door of the city. The holy road starting from the entrance door passes through necropolis and reaches to Hekate holy area in Lagina. This necropolis area has disappeared today remaining under coal mine basin.

Lagina
Lagina Hekate holy area is in the borders of Turgut Area of Yatağan District of Muğla. Lagina ruins are reached by going 9 km on the asphalt road that separates to right near the Thermal plant. The fame of Lagina holy area, which was an important cult center of Karia, has reached today and this area is now called as Lenye.

The last researches have shown that the region has an uninterrupted settlement since ancient Bronze Age (3000 BC) until today. Seleukos kings have made Lagina holy area a religion center and Stratonikeia city, which is 11 km there a political center.

In accordance with the information we obtained from the inscriptions that are still existent on Stratonikeia bouleuterion walls of Lagina, these two cities have been connected to each other via a holy road.

In Lagina holy area, propylon (monumental entrance door), holy road, altar, periobolos (wall surrounding the holy area), Doric Stoas and Hekate temple are located.

The holy area is also surrounded by walls that are still standing up to 2 m height forming the back wall of the Stoas. The monumental entrance door having three entrances and an apsis carried by four Ionian columns is connected to the Stoa via a door.

There are 10 stair series connected to the stone laid road going to altar from the monumental entrance door. The temple surrounded by five stair series and based on a platform that has a single series of columns having Korinth heads and Attic Ion aisles, is in the middle of the holy area. The temple is constructed in pseudo dipteros plan, with 8 x 11 columns in Korinth style. There are two Ionian columns in Pronaos part.

The archeological excavations carried out in Lagina holy area are important in terms of their being the first archeological excavations carried out by Turkish scientists. These excavations have been carried out by Osman Hamdi Bey and Halit Ethem Bey. In 1993, the archeological excavation and restoration works have been re - started under the control of Muğla Museum Directorate and consultancy of Architect Archeologist Ahmet Tırpan.

The friezes of the temple have been taken to İstanbul Archeology Museum by Osman Hamdi Bey and they are being exhibited in the same museum. The friezes have four different themes. (In east; scenes relating to the life of Zeus; in west; the war of the gods and gigants; in south Karia meeting of the gods; in north, war of Amazons)

Sedir Island
Sedir Island (Kedriai ancient city), that is in the borders of Ula district, in Gökova Gulf, with its archeological natural structure, is one of the parts of the region, where cultural tourism is very dense. Transportation to Sedir Island is provided via boats from Gökova - Akyaka Area or from Çamlıköy.

A great number of towers and walls made of smooth cut stone, Apollo temple and the church that is made later in its place, the well - protected theater that is still standing, agora and the ancient harbor ruins of Sedir Island are places that are worth seeing.

Back to General Directorate of Monuments and Museums
Back to Muğla