Adriace bay, Lycia, Turkey

Located at the western section of the southern coast of Turkey, in the region of Lycia, having a natural harbor facing the Mediterranean Sea, Andriace was the port town of Myra in antiquity. Although little is known about the town's establishment, circa 200 BC it became a well-known town situated at the mouth of the River Androkos. The area was under the rule of the Helleno-Egyptian ruler Ptolemy since the 3rd Century BC, until it was conquered by Syrian King Antiochus III circa 197 BC. During the rule of Ptolemy of Egypt, Andriace and all of Lycia were completely Hellenized, with Greek substituting the Lycian language and the cities adopting the Hellenistic cultural characteristics. Andriace became an important harbor town from the 1st Century BC onwards, and became a prosperous city under the Roman Emperors of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Warehouses, large granaries and other harbor-related storage facilities were erected in Andriace throughout the years. It held its importance also in the early Byzantine period. The shoreline of today's small natural bay is 300-500 meters south of the ancient original harbor basin.