Myra (Kale -Demre)
Acts 27:5-6
The city of Myra was a chief Lycian port in antiquity. Including
both the city and the harbor a short distance away, the once
prosperous city was near to the Lycian tombs (a short walk to the
north), a rock carved necropolis with an impressive faade from the
C4 BCE and onward.
Along with the necropolis, there was a Roman theatre erected, which
still appears in a good
state of preservation. The port regularly serviced Alexandrian grain
ships, serving the needs of the Lycian Cities.
Though not extensively excavated, the city has significant remains.
Julius the Centurion chose the ill-fated ship bound for Italy to
take St. Paul for his requested presentation to Caesar (Acts
27:5-6). The contrary winds and waves eventually overwhelmed the
vessel. Christianity took hold in the city, and a world famous
Christian bi
shop
of Myra.
St. Nicolas is remembered in the restored C 11 CE Byzantine
basilica. Nicolas was a late C4 CE bishop who served the people of
his region with zeal, and is remembered as a particularly selfless
and giving Christian. After a gift of three small bags of gold were
left as dowry payments from three young women of Patara (to aid them
in escaping a life of prostitution) the fame of his selfless acts
grew in historical legend.
It was said that Nicolas sold possessions dear to him to gain the
money to care for thes
e
women. Today, a pawnbroker uses the three balls of gold to remember
this gift. St. Nicolas is today the patron of Russia, virgins and
sailors in liturgical settings, and is remembered world wide in the
Santa Claus tradition.
Biblical Sites in Turkey List