Myra present day Kale (Demre) is now a small town in Lycia, Turkey. It is located on the river Myros (Demre Cay), in the fertile alluvial plain between the Alaca Dag, the Massikytos range and the Aegean Sea.

Though some scholars equate Myra with a town Mira in Arzawa, there is no proof for that. There is no secure written mention of Myra before it was listed as a member of the Lycian alliance ( 168 BC - 43 AD.), according to Strabo (14, 665) it was one of the biggest towns of the alliance.

The ruins of the Lycian and Roman town are mostly covered by alluvial silts. The Acropolis on the Demre-plateau, the Roman theatre and the Roman baths (eski hamam) have been partly excavated. The semi-circular theater was destroyed in an earthquake in 141 CE, but rebuilt afterwards.

There are two necropoli of Lycian rock-cut tombs in the form of temple-fronts carved into the vertical faces of cliffs at Myra: the river-necropolis and the ocean-necropolis. The best known tomb in the river-necropolis is the "Lion's tomb." When the traveller Charles Fellows saw the tombs in 1840 he found them still colorfully painted red, yellow and blue.

In early Christian times, Myra was the metropolis of Lydia. The town is traditionally associated with Saint PaulPaul of Tarsus (originally Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul the Apostle (c. 66) is considered by many Christians to be the most important disciple of Jesus, and next to Jesus the most important figure in the development of Christianity. Paul is recognized by, who changed ships in its harbor. Saint Nicholas of Myra (q.v.) was a bishop of Myra in the 4th century3rd century 4th century 5th century other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. Events Definitive declaration of biblical canon: Council of Carthage Demotic is replaced by Gr, who countered ArianismThis article is about the theological doctrine of Arius. See Aryan, Aryan race for the ethnic concept. Arianism was a Christological view held by followers of Arius in the early Christian Church, claiming that Jesus Christ and God the Father were not of t at the First Council of NicaeaThe First Council of Nicaea which took place during the reign of the emperor Constantine in 325, was the first ecumenical (from Greek oikumene "worldwide") conference of bishops of the Christian Church. The participating bishops were given free travel to in 325Events May 20 First Council of Nicaea first "Ecumenical Council" of the Christian Church: The Nicene Creed is formulated, the date of Easter is discussed. Gladiatorial combat is outlawed in the Roman Empire. The Church of the Nativity is built in Bethlehe. It became the Capital of the Byzantine Eparchy Lycia under Theodosius IITheodosius II ( April, 401 July 28, 450 ). The eldest son of Eudoxia and Arcadius who at the age of 7 became the Roman Emperor of the East. He was heavily influenced by his eldest sister Pulcheria who pushed him towards orthodox Christianity. Pulcheria wa, who reigned from 408Events Theodosius II succeeds his father Arcadius as Emperor of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire In the summer of this year, the usurper Constantine III captures Spain, destroying the loyalist forces defending it. September Alaric, king of the Visigot to 450Events August 25 Marcian proclaimed Eastern Roman Emperor by Aspar and Pulcheria. Saxons, Angles and Jutes invade Britain (traditional date). Births Thrasamund, king of the Vandals Deaths 28 July Theodosius II, East Roman Emperor (after falling from his h.

In 809 Myra fell to Arab troops under Harun al-Rashid after a siege. The town went into a decline afterwards. Early in the reign of Alexius I Comnenus, (reigned 1081 - 1118). Myra was again overtaken by Islamic invaders, this time Seljuks. In the confusion sailors from Bari, Italy seized the remains of Saint Nicholas, over the objections of the monks caring for them, and spirited the bones away to Bari, where they arrived on May 9, 1087, and soon brought that city pilgrim visitors.

The earliest church of St. Nicholas at Myra (see illustration) was built in the 6th century. The present-day church stems mainly from the 8th century; a monastery was added in the second half of the 11th century.

In 1863 Czar Alexander II of Russia bought the building and started to have it restored, but the work was never finished. In 1963 the eastern and southern sides of the church was excavated, in 1968 the former burial of St. Nicholas was roofed over. The floor of the church is made of opus sectile, a mosaic of coloured marble, and there are some remains of wall-paintings. A Greek marble sarcophagus had been reused to bury the Saint, but his bones were stolen in 1087 by merchants from Bari (See above).

External links:

• Turkish government notes on Myra
• http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Myra.html
• Sites in Myra