Hisarönü Limani

Hisarönü Limani is a wide bay located at the end of the Gulf of Hisarönü. The village of Hisarönü is situated nearby whereas it is the closest spot overland to Marmaris. You can anchor in the small bay to the S. which is one of two inlets situated W of Hisarönü Limani. After rounding Kuyulu Burnu to the south of the bay, you can drop anchor in 9-12 m. with a muddy bottom as you sail into the bay. Both the Gulf of Gökova and the Gulf of Hisarönü can be seen from the hill behind the bay and the scenery is breathtaking. There are daily excursion boats through the Gulf of HisarönU. Tour operators who run the daily excursion motorboats to the Gulf, which includes stopovers in the bays of Bencik, InbUkU, cokertme, Hisarönü and Orhaniye much prefer to sail into the bays of Bencik and Orhaniye.

There are sites in and around Hisarönü Limani that have ruins of ancient settlements. One of these is the city of Bybassos, which is situated on top of a hill between the sea and the road. There is a Medieval castle on the hill as well, which was connected with Bybassos, however there isn’t much remaining of this ancient site. You can reach the site of Erine located three km. outside the village of Hisarönü via a forest road. Here, you’ll encounter ruins from both the Hellenistic and Roman Periods. There is yet another site of ruins located between the villages of Hisarönü and Orhaniye. It is the Temple of Hemithea situated on Pazarlik Hill on Eren Mountain.

According to mythology, King Staphylus of Rhodes had two daughters, whose names were Molpadia and Parthenos. One day, the King assigned them with the task of protecting a newly discovered sacred wine. A few nights later, some pigs came in and tipped over the kegs of sacred wine while they slept. The girls, who woke up in the midst of all this commotion, were overcome with grief when they saw the wine that they were supposed to protect had spilled all over the place. Fearing their father, the girls committed suicide by leaping off a cliff. However, Apollo found them at the bottom of the precipice and resusitated both of the girls. Although we don’t know what became of Parthenos, Apollo brought Molpadia to Pazarlik above the Gulf of Hisarönü, and left her to her own devices after bestowing her with medical science abilities. It wasn’t too long before this girl, about whom nobody had any idea as to her origins, was observed healing coma patients. She was given the name Hemithea and a temple was erected in her name. Today, it is understood that this temple with its 11 x 6 colonnade, was of the Ionian order and dates from the 4th century B.C. Ancient writer Diodorus mentioned that the Temple of Hemithea was situated at the Pazarlik site whereas this was proven by the English Prof. J. Cook, who uncovered an inscription here. The existence of a theater on the S slope of the hill also indicates that there was habitation here. We know that this site was the ancient city of Kastabos and that the annual Kastabaeia Festival was organized to commemorate the Goddess of Health. It is understood from these 2nd century B.C inscriptions that the summit of Eren Mt. was filled with people who came from faraway places to partake in the festivities, whereas the Hemithea Festival was held here until that century, The inscriptions also imply that the sanctuary began losing its significance later on. Perhaps more suitable terrain was found for the festival, whereas it was continued there.

The Temple of Hemithea, which was founded in the 4th century B.C., did not only belong to Bybassos, but rather to all the cities in the region. It is recorded in the inscriptions that the recommendation for the sanctuary came from someone from Bybassos, but there were also contributions made from cities such as Amos and Hygassos as well. This sanctuary remained a major focal point for 200 years, then it sank into permanent obscurity.