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Among the 81 provinces of Turkey, Antalya is among the most fascinating: the Mediterranean Sea, which it overlooks, dominates the scene, offering wonderful panoramas. Nature is among the factors that most attract visitors: just think of Mount Yanartaş, which rises about 200 meters above sea level.
It is a place with a unique peculiarity: the name itself, in fact, means “burning stone”, indicating a place that is perpetually on fire. What natural phenomenon occurs on this mountain? And why is it linked to the Greek myth of the dreaded Chimera?
Yanartaş, on fire for millennia
This curious “mount of fire” is located in the valley of ancient Olympos, a city that probably was founded in the 4th century BC. and which survived at least until the arrival of the emperor Hadrian in 132 AD. The proximity of Yanartaş to Olympos meant that the city was dedicated to the Greek god Hephaestus: the continuous emission of flames from this mountain, adjacent to the inhabited site, lead the collective imagination to think of it as the forge of the god’s blacksmith, perpetually at work.
The presence of fire on the mountain, however, is very ancient: recent studies hypothesize that this place has been “burning” for thousands of years, at least 2500. The cause can be traced back to the emissions of various gases from the ground, mostly methane, hydrogen and nitrogen: this produces real “will-o’-the-wisps”, imperishable flames that are constantly fed by these naturally produced gases.
This distinctive feature of the territory was, in ancient times, widely used by sailors who found themselves passing by Olympos: especially at night, in fact, the flames provided a sort of natural lighthouse, useful for orientation. Nowadays, Yanartaş’s will-o’-the-wisp is no longer used as a landmark in navigation; however, they are still used for making tea.
Despite this, especially at night, this place becomes almost magical: the burning flames are appreciated by the many hikers who come to visit it. This natural show can be compared to the one nicknamed “the gate of hell”: a pit over 5300 m² wide, the ruin of a cave full of natural gas located in Turkmenistan that has been burning continuously for more than 50 years, given voluntarily burned by geologists to prevent these gases from spreading to nearby villages.
The “mount Chimera”
In addition to being a real natural show, Mount Yanartaş takes on a particular value as it is linked to a well-known legend of Greek mythology: that of the Chimera. The monstrous fire-breathing creature with a lion’s body, snake’s tail and double head of goat and lion, is closely linked to the adventures of a well-known Greek hero: Bellerophon.
Bellerophon was the unwitting victim of a “handover” to kill him. Having rejected the romantic interest of the queen of Tiryns, his murder was requested by her in revenge. The rules of ancient Greek hospitality, however, did not allow such a gesture to those who hosted the hero: so he was sent to King Iobate of Lycia with the aim of delivering him a letter, bearing the order of his assassination.
Iobates, however, having welcomed the Greek hero into his city, also found himself in the same difficulty. So he decided to send Bellerophon to “Mount Chimera”, on an almost suicidal mission: to kill the monster, who lived in a place where the flames never died, identified in the contemporary age with Yanartaş. Yet, the young man succeeded in the venture with the help of Pegasus: thanks to the winged horse, he pierced the fire-breathing monster with a lead spear, which melted in the creature’s throat, killing it.
Bellerophon, however, was not so lucky: while surviving the battle and the subsequent ones where he was sent, always in an attempt to fulfill the request of the queen of Tiryns, the continuous victories made him drunk with power, eager to reach the gods of Olympus. But the gods, annoyed, managed to have him unseated by Pegasus: after a disastrous fall from heaven, the Greek hero was blinded, an infirmity that accompanied him until his death, which took place in solitude, after years of remorse.
The “Mount Chimera”, therefore, unlike those lost places who only belong in Greek myths, could be a really existing place, which provided the inspiration for the story of the Greek hero. It is not known: however, Yanartaş remains a suggestive destination, immersed in the splendor of the province of Antalya, suspended between myth and reality.
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