Meeting the Myth of the Chimaera

 

Descend into myth and legend now, as we embark on a trek to the lair of the Chimaera. This is an evening tour, so we’ll embark in the afternoon from Kalkan and drive to Cirali –our starting point. The 3 km route is an easy walk along a rough stone path as we climb North-wards to YanartaÅŸ, which translates as Burning Rock. Located on the hill-side above the Temple of Hephaestus, the ground here is rife with dozens of flames which issue from the mass of rock with no apparent fuel to sustain them. The fascinating natural phenomenon is due to permanent gas vents which emit burning methane. Thought to be of metamorphic origin, this was a landmark by which ancient sailors could navigate. It is probably also what gave birth to the Greek myth of the Chimaera first recorded by Homer as a fire-breathing hybrid creature of Lycia in Asia Minor: “a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire" (Iliad)