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 - 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. 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 you actually see

• 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.

Honest expectations

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.