During its heyday there were two necropolises in the Lycian Simena – Upper and Lower. Of the Lower Necropolis, only one partially submerged sarcophagus remained, which became a symbol of this area, while the Upper Necropolis remained almost intact.
In Myra you can see the Lycian tombs hollowed out just in the mountainside, and in Simena the boat-shaped sarcophagi are scattered along the mountainside at the foot of the fortress. The Lycians were fishermen, so their sarcophagi has the appropriate shape, the shape of upturned boats. The grave looks as if it is covered with a stone boat.
Olive trees give quite a special atmosphere to this necropolis. They look as ancient as the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem. It is believed that those trees are over 2 thousand years old. The olive trees of Simena are about the same age.
