Labraunda

Labraunda was the great sanctuary of the Carians, dedicated to Zeus Labraundos - depicted holding the labrys, the double-headed axe that gave the god and the place their name, in a cult statue given by Hecatomnus, founder of the dynasty - and it was linked to Mylasa in the plain below by a paved sacred way along which processions climbed. The Hekatomnid rulers of Caria, Mausolus and his family, built it up in the fourth century BCE, and what they left is unusual: two andrones, banqueting halls where ritual meals were eaten, with their walls standing to considerable height, along with the temple terrace, a monumental staircase, propylaea, a stoa, priests' houses, a Roman bath and rock-cut tombs on the slopes; after the Hecatomnids fell in the third century BCE the sanctuary passed to Mylasa, and it stayed in use into the middle Byzantine period. It sits at around six hundred metres among pines and plane trees with a spring running through, looking down over the whole Milas plain. The road up is the barrier - steep, narrow and unpaved in stretches - and it keeps the site almost empty.

What's there

• The andrones - the banqueting halls with high standing walls.
• The temple terrace - the sanctuary platform and staircase.
• The sacred way - traces of the processional route from Mylasa.
• The mountain setting - pines, spring water and the plain below.

When to go

April to June and September to October. The road is poor after rain and can be impassable; check locally before driving up.

Before you go

The access road is steep, narrow and partly unpaved - not for a low car or a nervous driver. There are no facilities on site. Excavation continues and areas are fenced.

Nearby

Euromos is on the Söke road below; Milas town and its Ottoman mosques are at the foot of the mountain.

Key facts