The individual ruins aren’t as good at Xanthos as those at, say, Patara, but the sheer size of the site makes up for it – you get a very clear idea of how important and busy this city must have been. Most notable among the ruins are the theatre, tombs on top of the hill, and the long road up to the necropolis.

No camping permitted inside the ruins though there’s camping spots available just to the north of Xanthos.

If you are skipping the delta region, consider a visit to the ruins by dolmuş, taxi, or private car. You can do Xanthos, Letoon’s ruins, and Patara as a half-day outing from Kalkan or Gelemiş.

Interesting tidbit of Xanthos history: in about 540 B.C., while facing a losing battle against invading Persian forces, the people of Xanthos refused to surrender. They gathered all of their citizens into the citadel and lit it on fire, killing everyone while the remaining fighters fought to the death. Only those residents who happened to be out of the city at the time survived. In case you think that was a one-off fluke, they did the same thing again about 500 years later when facing a Roman general. Don’t mess with these people!