Tomb of Amyntas and the Fethiye rock tombs

Tomb of Amyntas entrance fee and opening hours

The tomb is an archaeological site of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, with enquiries handled by the Fethiye Museum. Entry for foreign visitors is €3 per person aged 8 and over; younger children go in free. Turkish citizens pay 200 lira, and Turkish under-18s and over-65s go free. These are the prices on the official Türkiye Müzeleri portal as of 30 October 2026. You can buy a ticket there online, or at the booth at the foot of the stairs.

The site is open every day, with no weekly closing day. Summer hours run from 1 April to 1 November: 8:30–19:30. Winter hours, 1 November to 1 April: 8:30–17:30. The ticket booth keeps the same times. Older guides quote other lira prices, a Monday closure or a 17:00 close — that information is out of date. The official page doesn’t say whether the Müzekart or the Museum Pass The Aegean is valid here, so we are verifying it — ask at the booth.

If the booth is already shut, you still see a lot without a ticket: the tomb is cut high in the rock, and the columned façade shows up well from the street by the fence. Only ticket holders get right up to the threshold and the inscription.

What is the Tomb of Amyntas?

It is the grandest of the Lycian rock tombs cut into the cliff above Telmessos, the ancient city that lies under modern Fethiye. The Lycians carved their tombs to look like buildings they knew: some copy timber houses, with beams and jutting log ends, others copy Greek temples. Three on this cliff are temple-fronted, and Amyntas’ — the one locals call the King’s Tomb — is the best preserved.

It dates from the 4th century BC, when Lycia was ruled by Persia. The front is an Ionic temple “in antis”: two columns between the projecting side walls, a pediment above. The stone door has four panels and even carved studs, copying a wooden original. Behind it is a plain chamber with a flat ceiling and three stone couches for the dead.

The name comes from a Greek inscription on the wall: “Amyntas, son of Hermapias”, as Turkey’s Ministry of Culture reads it — Wikipedia gives the father as Hermagios. Who Amyntas was is not certain. The ministry calls him a ruler of Telmessos; Wikipedia cautiously links him to the family of Persian governors of Lycia.

Is the Tomb of Amyntas worth it?

If you are staying in or passing through Fethiye, yes. It is the town’s headline sight, it takes half an hour and costs €3, and up close you see exactly how the Lycians carved a temple out of living rock. The platform also gives one of the best views over the bay. It is not worth a special trip from Ölüdeniz on its own, though — for a half-day of Lycian tombs, Tlos or Xanthos offer far more.

Skip the climb if stairs in the heat are a struggle: the façade looks impressive from the street and even from the harbour. And don’t expect a museum — the chamber is empty and signage is minimal; the point is the carving outside and the view.

What to see at the rock tombs

• The Amyntas façade — two Ionic columns with scrolled capitals and a triangular pediment, all carved from a single rock face.
• The stone door with four panels and carved “studs”, a copy of a Lycian wooden door.
• The inscription on the wall beside the columns — Amyntas’ name in Greek letters, legible from the threshold.
• The house-type tombs further east: frames and beams that show how Lycians built in timber and metal.
• The view from the platform: Fethiye’s rooftops, the marina, the island at the mouth of the bay and the mountains beyond.
• Back in town, Lycian sarcophagi standing in the streets and the ancient theatre on the harbour front.

Tomb of Amyntas vs Tlos and Xanthos

Amyntas is a short stop in town. For Lycian tombs on a grand scale add Tlos — it pairs well with Saklıkent Gorge.

History around Fethiye compared

Every historic site around Fethiye rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

How to do it right

• The light on the façade is best late in the day; for sunset, stay by the fence below — the harbour view is just as good.
• Combine the climb with a stroll through town: sarcophagi in the streets, the ancient theatre on the waterfront and the Paspatur bazaar are all within 15 minutes.
• Don’t climb past the barriers or into the neighbouring chambers — the worn rock is slippery, especially after rain.
• Fine with kids: the stairway is long but ordinary; hold small hands on the uneven rock-cut steps by the tomb.
• Heading to Kayaköy? Do the tombs first thing — the dolmuş leaves from the same town centre.

Questions