Meğri

Meğri lies on a sheltered gulf at the western edge of Lycia, where the mountains meet the Mediterranean. It occupies the site of ancient Telmessos, a city whose theatre overlooked the harbour and whose rock-cut tombs rise above the settlement. Known later as Makri or Meğri, the port connected the Lycian coast with the islands and sea routes to the west.

The Menteşe rulers took Meğri from the Byzantines in the late thirteenth century, and in 1424 it became part of the Ottoman realm. The harbour continued to shelter coastal shipping, while Greek and Turkish communities lived among the remains of the older city. Its succession of names reflects the changes of rule along a coast where ancient tombs and the sea remained enduring landmarks.