Tlos Ancient Theatre Prepares to Take the Stage Again After Centuries

Restoration work is nearing completion at the theatre of Tlos Ancient City, one of the oldest settlements in the Lycian Region. The theatre, which can comfortably seat approximately 8,500 people, will reopen its doors to art lovers after centuries.

Located in the Seydikemer district of Muğla, Tlos is recorded as Dlawa in 14th century BC Hittite documents and as Tlawa in Lycian inscriptions.

Excavations in the ancient city, which is on the UNESCO World Temporary Heritage List, are being carried out under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Taner Korkut, a faculty member of Akdeniz University Faculty of Letters, Department of Archeology.

Excavation Head Prof. Dr. Korkut stated that a meticulous work is being carried out in the restoration of the theatre and that almost all of the structure is being restored with its original materials. Stating that excavation and restoration work has been carried out in the city for 12 months in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Akdeniz University, Korkut said, “Theatre restoration is nearing completion. We will be able to hold events at the Tlos theatre after the fall of 2025. Here, we remove the collapsed blocks and take them to the stone workshop. After cleaning and conservation, we complete the restoration and place them in their original places.”

Korkut noted that new materials were used in place of very few fragmented and unrecoverable blocks, and that these pieces were chosen from materials that exactly matched the original in color. Expressing that they started the restoration of the theatre in 2023 and set 2025 as a target, Korkut stated that nearly 90 percent of the work has been completed.

Stating that they thought the theatre had a maximum capacity of 4,000 people before the excavations, Korkut said:

“As a result of our measurements and evaluations, the Tlos theatre is a large structure where approximately 8,500 people can comfortably sit and watch shows. I can say that it is perhaps one of the few large theatres we have seen in the border from Muğla to Antalya. This shows the importance of Tlos. Tlos is one of the 6 major Lycian cities located in the Western Lycian region, overlooking the famous Xanthos Valley mentioned in Homer’s epics. 4 major cities of Lycia are also located in the Xanthos Valley. These are Patara, Xanthos, Pınara and Tlos ancient cities. We know that these four cities are represented in the Lycian Parliament with 3 votes, that is, 3 deputies. In this respect, we can say that there is a theatre structure worthy of a large city like a metropolis.”