A side trip to St Nick's church and the city of Myra
09 May 2007 | The Turkish Lycian coast
Robin
Charles decided to spend his birthday (Thurs, May 9th) in Kemer so I had a few hours of free time the day before.
Friends on another boat had a car so I went with them to visit the birth place of St. Nicholaus. Originally a much loved Greek bishop, St Nick has a 5th century church in the tiny town of Demre. His good deeds during his life gave him the title of patron saint of Sailors and Pawnbrokers. Much later he took on the role of "Father Christmas". Even today sailors wish each other a safe voyage by saying "May St Nicholaus hold your tiller".
Another stop close by was the ancient city of Myra. Myra has two interesting things to see - an impressive ampitheater and a hillside filled with ancient tombs. Most interesting to me were the carved faces around the ampitheater.
Check out our "photo gallery" for some interesting pictures of St Nick's original home and the "faces" of Myra.