Stratonikeia [Book Part]

Abstract

Stratonikeia, a city in the interior of Karia region, is located at Eskihisar village, in the Yatağan administrative district of the Muğla province. Stratonikeia is that rare site where there are structures ranging from ancient times to Ottoman and Turkish Republican periods. Thus, a visitor has the opportunity to see many structures from different periods spanning three thousand years. After 281 BC the Seleukid King Antiokhos I changed the name of the city to Stratonikeia, after the name of his former stepmother and later wife. However, the city was settled before the Hellenistic period, and Stratonikeia was one of the major settlements in the region at that time. Fortifications and some other structures were constructed in the Archaic and Classical periods. Early fortification walls were built in the Leleg type. In particular, in the period of the Hekatomnids in the 4th century BC, both upper and lower cities were surrounded by fortification walls. The preserved parts of the ancient city include a gymnasium, a theatre, two Roman bath complexes, three temples, agorae, two fountains, two monumental portals, a council house (bouleuterion), Augustus-Imperial temple, northern city gate and fountain, colonnaded street and monument, water structure, necropolis of the city, church of Michael and Christ. Relations with other contemporary states and civilizations became the reason for long-term settlement in the city in different parts of history. Even today, someone can easily see the evidence of the immortal city of Stratonikeia. Near the city walls, a Turkish bath dated to the 15th century AD, the Mosque of Şaban Ağa that was built four centuries later, the Village Cafe (Kahve), and the stores, bakers and butcher shops of Eskihisar Village are still suitable to visit. In the square of the village (Köy Meydanı), an old oak tree salutes the visitors.