Exploring the World in 'Blue Velvet of Sark': Ancient Myra and St Nicholas' Basilica

Saturday 3rd October was the final day of the rally, yet there was little let-up in the pace of things. Perhaps as a result there were reduced numbers on the coach to Myra, so much so that there was just the one small coach and not a minibus as well. Myra is a very well frequented site, particularly by Russian tourists. This is particularly apparent from the large number of souvenir shops around the entrance to the site, most of them with their signs in Russian and prices in US$ rather than € or Turkish Lira.

Lycian tombs at Ancient Myra

Myra was founded in the 5th century BC and became one of the most important cities in the Lycian Federation. It was later also an important Christian city, visited by St Paul and, unusually for a Lycian city, it survived in some form or another until 1300AD.

Disappointingly, given that our entry fee for Myra was at least a third as much again as the fee for most other sites, it was the place where we could wander around the least. The rock tombs are spectacular and though the carvings may be in relatively poor repair, the effect of the many tombs close together, stacked up on the cliff-face, is dramatic.

High tombs and caves which are no longer accessible

Suzie had described how, when she and Robin had last visited, they had been able to scramble high up among the tombs and see them from close-up. Now, however, they are all roped off, presumably to prevent excessive damage by footfall and handling so one can only view them from some distance below.

The theatre at Ancient Myra (JCB digger parked at current ground level)

The Roman-era theatre below the tombs is very impressive and well-preserved with most of the seating, many of the tunnels and much of the scene building intact. As ever, it is instructive to see just how deeply buried below the current surface level the building was before the archaeologists discovered it and set to work.

The theatre at Ancient Myra

We had expected to spend 2 hours at Myra and had told the coach driver as much but after 45mins we had seen all that was accessible. Having re-grouped we decided that we should try to get to Demre to see St Nicholas' Basilica; the only problem was finding our driver! In time he was tracked to earth in one of the 2 'drivers' caffs' but then we had lost some of the Rally Team....... Eventually, we managed to herd all the cats successfully and set off for Demre.

Demre is not an old and elegant town and the much-modified Byzantine church, built on the site of the church where St Nicholas was bishop in the 4th century AD, is now covered by a wriggly tin and tarpaulin shelter. The church itself was originally built in the 6th century AD on the site of St Nicholas' tomb. It was extended in 1043 by Constantine IX and again by the Russians in 1862. St Nicholas' remains, however, are no longer in situ, having been carried off to Bari by Christian pirates in 1087. Despite this, the church remains a place of pilgrimage for Russians (plenty of tat shops with Russian signs and prices in US$ crowd the surrounding streets) as St Nicholas is now revered as the patron saint of Russia (as well as of Greece). He is also the patron saint of sailors, travellers, the poor, prisoners, thieves, pawnbrokers, merchants, children, students and unmarried girls - he's a busy saint!

St Nicholas' tomb

Inside the church, there are plenty of old (perhaps ancient) wall frescoes, some beautiful stonework and lovely mosaic floors and, of course, the purported tomb of St Nicholas, now behind a protective glass screen so it doesn't get worn away by pilgrims touching it.

Back outside the church we had time for a quick wander around and managed to buy some delicious, and very cheap, village bread before returning back to Finike in time to prepare for the next day's departure and the evening's entertainment.

The final evening had been the one dreaded by most of the Rally's crews as it was touted as the 'Talent Evening'. Each crew had to put together a 3 minute performance and, despite everyone's fears, it all worked out really well. Each boat did something - there were poems and songs about the Rally; performances of well-known and less well-known pieces; and take-offs of songs, many with audience participation. Having no particular singing, musical or poetry writing talent, Nicky and I had spent some time tuning old wine bottles and jars with varying amounts of sea water, and used them to play a short selection of well-known tunes ('Proms on the Pontoon'), ending with an excerpt of 'Rule Britannia'. The winning entry, however, was by Janet and Steve of Ellida who captivated everyone with a lovely piece of ballroom dancing performed in a challengingly tiny space.