The Tomb of Amyntas, Telmessos Theatre and Paspatur Old Town

You do not have to leave Fethiye Town to see monumental Lycian antiquity. Because ancient Telmessos stood right where modern Fethiye's marina and bazaar sit today, its hillside tombs, medieval castle and Roman waterfront theatre form a compact two-hour walking loop directly from the harbour.

1. The Lycian Rock Tombs and the Tomb of Amyntas (350 BC)

Visible from everywhere along the Fethiye harbourfront, a honeycomb of 4th-century BC graves is carved straight into the sheer limestone cliff of Mount Mendos behind the town. Because ancient Lycians believed a winged siren-like creature carried the souls of the dead to the afterlife, they carved their tombs high up on vertical cliff faces to replicate the timber and stone architecture of their living houses and temples:

• Climbing to the Tomb of Amyntas: follow Kaya Caddesi ten minutes uphill from the town centre to the ticket booth (Museum Pass Turkey valid) and climb around 150 wide stone steps to the grandest monument of all, inscribed in ancient Greek on its left anta wall: "Amyntou tou Hermagiou" ("Amyntas, son of Hermagios"). Carved around 350 BC directly out of the solid mountain rock without a single added block, its two fluted Ionic columns support a triangular pediment and panelled stone double doors carved with imitation bronze studs.
• Best time to visit: go at in the early evening or an hour before sunset, when the west-facing limestone facade glows warm gold and the terrace looks straight across Fethiye harbour, Knight Island and the setting sun.

2. Fethiye Castle, Telmessos Theatre and Fethiye Museum

Five minutes west of the rock tombs rises the hill of the ancient acropolis, crowned by the stone walls of Fethiye Castle. At the foot of the castle hill right opposite the yacht marina stands the Ancient Theatre of Telmessos: built in the late Hellenistic era and expanded in the 2nd century AD to seat 6,000 spectators right at the water's edge, it was recently restored so you can walk freely up its marble tiers. Ten minutes east of the bazaar on 505 Sokak, the compact Fethiye Archaeological Museum (free admission) displays bilingual Lycian-Greek-Aramaic stelae from the Letoon sanctuary alongside bronze and terracotta finds from Tlos and Kaunos.

3. Paspatur (Old Town Bazaar) and the 1591 Ottoman Hammam

Descend from the theatre directly into Paspatur (Eski Çarşı), the oldest surviving quarter of Fethiye, named after the spring water (Paspal) flowing beneath its lanes. Shaded by wooden pergolas, hanging colourful umbrellas and jasmine vines, Paspatur holds the 1791 Cezayirli Hasan Pasha Mosque, the 16th-century 14-domed Old Turkish Bath (Eski Fethiye Hamamı) and rows of spice, carpet and Turkish delight shops leading straight into the Fish Market.