Kemer Before the Hotels: Idyros and the Seljuk Hunting Lodge
A walk through two very different layers of time: a late antique city by the sea and a medieval building in the forest.
History close at hand
For many people, Kemer first means the beach, the harbour and a view of the mountains. Two places add depth to this familiar picture. Idyros lies near Ayışığı Bay, while the Seljuk hunting lodge opens up another chapter of the region’s history. Together, they make an outing that reveals long spans of time within a manageable area. You do, however, need to plan for two separate places; this is not a continuous archaeological walking route.
Idyros: a city becoming legible again
Akdeniz University describes Idyros as an ancient coastal city whose archaeological picture is still expanding. The Antalya Museum’s first excavations took place in 1976 and 1977, focusing particularly on a church with a mosaic floor. Work resumed in 2017. Early pottery dates to the 5th and 4th centuries BC; many finds belong to the Roman and Byzantine periods. This is an important distinction: the age of individual pottery fragments does not automatically date all the visible walls. A visit takes you through several layers of a long history of use.
What mosaics and everyday finds reveal
The university account mentions a church with a cruciform plan dating to the 4th century AD, a Roman bridge pier and amphora burials from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD. Buildings associated with trade and communal life are still being investigated. The municipality highlights geometric mosaic patterns made from stones of different colours. As you walk around, it is worth alternating between close-up and wider views: first notice the pattern of a floor, then the space around it. Where were the entrances? Which areas were public? Not every question yet has a definitive answer. That is precisely what makes an excavation interesting: history is reconstructed from the context of the finds.
The hunting lodge belongs to the Seljuk period
The municipality dates the small building in the forest to between 1230 and 1248. It comes from the Seljuk period. The widespread idea of an Ottoman hunting palace would mix up the eras here. The municipal description calls it one of the few surviving examples of this building type. In telling its story, the location matters more than a grand palace setting: the forest provides a different context from the urban space of Idyros. We can consider both places side by side without giving them the same function or a direct architectural connection.
Two places, two questions for the past
Idyros draws attention to life together in a coastal settlement: paths, burials, churches and spaces used for economic activity. The hunting lodge, meanwhile, leads us to the use of the landscape in the Middle Ages. An engaging way to visit is to ask the same question deliberately at both places: why here? The answer must come from the location and the evidence. This preserves the atmosphere without turning a few walls into a supposedly fully understood past.
Visiting today
Idyros is in the Ayışığı Bay area and combines well with time in Kemer. The municipality describes it as within walking distance of the centre. The hunting lodge, however, lies in the forest by the entrance to Kemer on the Antalya–Kumluca road. Plan a separate short transfer for it. Before the visit, we clarify current access and any excavation barriers. View mosaics from the permitted paths; a visible floor is not an invitation to walk on it. Shoes with good grip and enough time to look around quietly suit both places.
Through the layers of time with Erendiz
Our bus guide helps with travel into the centre and connections along the coast. The team helps you choose the right stop and arrange the connection to the hunting lodge. On request, we organise a tailor-made outing that combines history with a break by the sea. If you would like to explore further, you can enquire about a guided visit. Two short stops then become connected encounters with the Kemer that existed before today’s holiday resort.
If you would like to explore more of the ancient coastal landscape, you can then read the story of Phaselis and plan a separate day to visit.