This ancient Lycian capital is sited above the village of Kınık. From Kınık you pass the old city gates and the plinth where the fabulous Nereid Monument (now in London's British Museum) once stood.
Further up, opposite the car park, is the Roman theatre, agora, and the ticket office. Follow the colonnaded street to find some well-preserved mosaics, the Dancers' Sarcophagus and Lion Sarcophagus and some rock tombs.
For all its grandeur, Xanthos had a chequered history of wars and destruction. At least twice, when besieged by clearly superior enemy forces, the city's population committed mass suicide.
As many of the finest sculptures (eg the Harpies Monument) and inscriptions were carted off to London by Charles Fellows in 1842, most of the inscriptions and decorations you see today are copies of the originals.
