Lagina Antik Kenti

Lagina Hekate holy area is on the borders of the Turgut Area of the Yatagan District of Mugla. The Lagina ruins are reached by going 9 km by the asphalt road that splits in to two taking the right near the Thermal plant. The fame of the Lagina holy area, which was an important cult centre of Karia, has reached today and this area is now called Lenye.nnThe last researches have shown that the region has an uninterrupted settlement since the ancient Bronze Age (3000 BC) until today. Seleukos kings have made the Lagina holy area a religion centre and Stratonikeia city, which is 11 km away, a political centre.nIn accordance with the information we obtained from the inscriptions that are still existent on the Stratonikeia bouleuterion walls of Lagina, these two cities were connected to each other with a holy road.nnIn the Lagina holy area, a propylon (monumental entrance door), a holy road, an altar, a a periobolos (wall surrounding the holy area), the Doric Stoas and the Hekate temple are located.nnThe holy area is also surrounded by 2 metre walls forming the back wall of the Stoas. The monumental entrance door having three entrances and an apsis carried by four Ionian columns is connected to the Stoas via a door.nnThere are 10 stair series connected to the stone laid road going to the altar from the monumental entrance door. The temple surrounded by five stair series and based on a platform that has a single series of columns with the Korinth heads and the Attic Ion aisles, is in the middle of the holy area. The temple is constructed in the pseudo dipteros style, with 8 x 11 columns in the Korinth style. There are two Ionian columns in the Pronaos part.nnThe archaeological excavations carried out in the Lagina holy area are important in terms of their being the first archaeological excavations carried out by the Turkish scientists. These excavations have been carried out by Osman Hamdi Bey and Halit Ethem Bey. In 1993, the archaeological excavation and the restoration works were re - started under the control of the Mugla Museum Directorate and the consultancy of an architect-archeologist Ahmet Tirpan.nThe friezes of the temple have been taken to the Istanbul Archaeology Museum by Osman Hamdi Bey and they are being exhibited in the same museum. The friezes have four different themes. (In the east: scenes relating to the life of Zeus: in the west: the war of the gods and giants; in the south: Karia meeting of the gods; in the north: the war of Amazons)

A small cute ancient city. His work continues. Free entrance, nice place to take pictures.

Lagina Ancient City - Home of the Moon Goddess Hecate - MuğlanLagina Hekate sanctuary is located within the boundaries of Turgut Neighborhood of Yatağan District of Muğla Province. It is 9 km from the asphalt road that turns right next to the thermal power plant on the Yatağan-Milas highway. Lagina sanctuary is reached by going. The fame of the Lagina sanctuary, which is an important cult center of Carians, has reached our time and this region is still known by the name Leyne.nThe latest research, the region's ancient Bronze Age BC. 3000 shows that it has an uninterrupted settlement until today. The Seleucid kings built the Lagina sacred area as a religious center and 11 km from here. It also made the city of Stratonikeia, which is a distance away, the political center of the region.nAs we learn from the inscriptions still present on the walls of Lagina and Stratonikeia bouleuterion, these two cities are connected to each other by a sacred road. In the Lagina sanctuary, there are the propylon monumental entrance gate, the sacred road, the altar of the sacrifice and altar, the peribolos, the Doric Stoas and the Hecate temple.nThe sanctuary also includes small temples, as well as monumental columns and statue bases, houses of the priests living here, and the presence of at least one fountain. It is surrounded by walls standing up to a height of two meters that form the back wall of the stoas. The monumental entrance structure, which has three entrances and has an apses carried by four Ionic columns at the west end, is also connected to the Stoa by a door.nThere are 10 rows of stairs connected to the stone paved road leading to the altar from the monumental entrance door. The temple, which is surrounded by five rows of stairs and sits on a platform with an Attic Ionic base and a single row of columns with a Corinthian capital, is in the middle of the sanctuary. The temple was built in a pseudo dipteros plan, with 8x11 columns and in the Corinthian order. There are two Ionic columns in the Pronaos section.nMany travelers and researchers have visited Lagina from the 18th century until today. Excavations were also made during this period. Osman Hamdi Bey, one of the first Turkish scientists and museums, excavated here in 1891-1892 and took all of the finds to the Istanbul Archeology Museum. Later, in 1993, archaeological excavation and restoration work in Lagina, Prof. Dr. Yusuf Boysal and Prof. Dr. Studies were conducted with the architect Archaeologist Ahmet Tırpan under the presidency of the Muğla Museum. Today, Prof. Dr. Excavation and restoration works are being carried out by a team under the direction of Bilal Söğüt.nThe Hellenistic Period Hecate Temple started in 1993 as a Museum Rescue Excavation in the excavation area, where settlement has continued from the old Bronze Age to the present. In 2019, in the sacred area of ​​Lagina, Prof. Dr. Decisive excavations were carried out by the Council of Ministers under the presidency of Bilal SÖĞÜT.

Lagina ancient city is easily accessible, the roads are smooth, but the only thing to be careful about is not to miss the entrance, the direction signs are insufficient.

It is the only known temple in Anatolia dedicated to Hecate. It is one of the must-see places.