Labranda Ancient City

"Lovely sight, free to enter, currently being excavated as of November 2024. Really interesting history and great to visit the original spring. We were in the area at Alinda and this was a really nice addition/stop on the way down south."

Samantha

"If you survive the drive getting here (more on that at the end of this review), you will find Labranda (Labraunda) to be quite a fascinating historical site. I spent almost three hours here on a perfectly beautiful day in spring 2023, and only two other people showed up, so Labranda is definitely off the beaten tourist path. That means it is very quiet, unspoiled, you won't be constantly eagle-eyed by over-zealous caretakers as happens at places like Eleusis and Delphi, no graffiti, and you can physically experience the site in its entirety, even scrambling inside Zeus' rock cleft atop the cliff. There is also no charge to park or enter the site. The downside, however, is a lack of off-street parking (you have to park along the roadway), primitive toilet, and a bit of safety risk with the steepness and cliff. Definitely not accessible to wheelchairs. Some reviewers have complained about lack of informational signage, but I counted at least ten informational signs, all in excellent condition in both Turkish and English. Famous in antiquity for its oracle of Zeus, his cult here dated from the 6th century BC, but most of what you see today is from the 4th century BC. Zeus' oracle was (almost) unique in antiquity, it is conjectured, for using "bejeweled" fish as its method of divination. The remains include a large Hypostyle Fountain which was calculated to hold more than 2000 cubic feet of water(60 x 25 feet; "Hypostyle" means a building that has a roof supported by a row of columns). Labranda consists of a series of constructed terraces going uphill from the roadway, mostly connected by stairways (one of which is quite grand). The Temple of Zeus lies at the foot of the cliff just to the west of the cleft rock. The cleft in that rock, by the way, is split so wide that you can walk right through it, and at the back and below it (opposite the cliff face) some ancient stairs can be seen cut into the rock. That dramatic cleft rock, coupled with the fresh water spring directly below it, was the original attraction for a sanctuary here. The mythological tale is that Zeus threw a thunderbolt into the rock which split it. The most vertical buildings on site are "androns" or entertainment buildings for men dating from the 4th century BC. Atop the cliff there is a prominent rock with a rectangular hole cut into it, but it is a mystery since there was no signage concerning it. Only after my visit to Labranda did I realize there may be additional ruins further south (see with satellite image at coordinates 37.404176, 27.805689), but I did not visit that spot. Since there were a series of tombs and sepulchers along the ancient Sacred Way, perhaps that is what lies there, but that's a guess. Labranda is definitely worth visiting, but I need to add a strong cautionary note. The 9 mile (14 km) drive to Labranda from Milas can be rather harrowing. There are immense marble quarries operated by Kultan Mining to the north, and consequently the Milas Karpuzlu Yolu roadway gets jammed with huge trucks trying to drive as rapidly as possible. That's a problem because the roadway is terribly inconsistent in both width and surface quality, such that there are times when you need to drive around sharp/blind corners with barely room for one vehicle to pass. I had to deal with at least 60 trucks barreling at me along this twisty drive, and that led to several near misses (of the head-on collision variety). Not for the faint of heart. Presumably, that roadway is built along much of the ancient Sacred Way that connected Labranda with Mylasa (today's Milas) when the oracle was in full swing."

Jab Myarm

"The ruins are great to see. The road to reach the ancient city is a bit difficult with a lot of potholes and trucks, therefore I strongly recommend to be careful. But you can be sure that the view and atmosphere totally worth that difficulty. Enjoy the breathtaking view 🤩🤩"

Sena Özbal