MEDITERRANEAN TURKEY
24.12.2020
St. Nicholas’s Home
Myra / Demre – Patara / Antalya
St. Nicholas, or as he is best known in the West,Santa Claus, was a native Lycian, a member of an ancient civilization ofsouthern Asia Minor. He was born in the famous Lycian city of Patara andserved as the miracle-working Bishop of Myra in the 4th century. St. Nicholasis the patron saint of children, merchants, and sailors. One of his most famousmiracles is saving three young girls from being forced into prostitution bysecretly dropping gold, which their father used as their dowry, through thewindow of their house.
The church dedicatedto him in the ancient city of Myra, today known as Demre, and his tomb arepilgrimage sites for many believers. Gemile Island by theshores of the city of Fethiye today hosts the ruins of several Byzantinechurches built between the fourth and seventh centuries AD.