Chimera
Chimeira

 

The perpetually burning flame of Chimaera is located in the hills above Çirali. The fire burns in a natural vent in the ground and can be seen at night with the naked eye from far out in the sea. It can be extinguished by heaping it with earth, but reignites itself in a few minutes. The most interesting thing about these flames is that they are fueled from material that is NOT organic. These are the only flames of this kind.

The ancient Lycians saw these flames as the breath of the Chimaera, a fire-breathing dragon. The Chimarea take its name from the myth of Bellerophon. The Lycian King, Lobates, sent Bellerophon to kill the fire-breathing monster, part lion, goat and serpent. With the aid of the winged horse Pegasus, he succeeded, and returned, after completing other tasks set by Lobates, to Xanthus where he married the king's daughter and became heir of the Lycian throne. Carried away by his success, Bellerophon tried to ride Pegasus up to Mount Olympus; for his presumption, he earned a great thunderbolt from Zeus.
 
TIP: You can hike/run from Olympos to Chimera. It's a nice 3 mile hike on a good road. It will be dark when you are done the visit so take the shuttle back with the rest of the group.
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A copy of this information is available onboard the Gundogan for your convenience.