* Demre (Mira) is one of the most visited cities in Turkey. This is one of the centers of the spread of Christianity, the place where Nicholas of Patara, known in the Orthodox tradition as Nicholas the Wonderworker or Nicholas the Saint, lived and preached. The son of a sailor (hence his status as the patron saint of seafarers), he studied at Xanthos and became bishop of Myra, where he preached from about 310 AD until his death in 343. Immediately after the death of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, a church was built. Here he was buried in a marble sarcophagus. The church was originally destroyed by an earthquake, and a basilica was built in its place, destroyed by the Arabs in the 7th century. The modern building (a cruciform basilica) was built around the 8th century. The sarcophagus, which originally contained the relics of St. Nicholas, is located in the southern nave of the church, located between two columns behind a destroyed marble partition. It is believed that St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was buried there. The ruins of ancient Mira are located 2 km north of the center of Demre and are one of the most easily accessible archaeological sites in Turkey. The ruins of a magnificent Greco-Roman theater and tombs carved into the rocks have been preserved from the city. The uniqueness and originality of the Lycian tombs can be explained by the fact that the peoples of Lycia had a custom of burying the dead in elevated places, as it was assumed that this would help them get to heaven. Program: — Visit to the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker — The Ancient city of the World (visit to rock tombs) — Boat trip through the sunken city of Kekova (you can swim here)