Labranda Ruins

Labraunda is an ancient Carian and Mysian sacred site in the mountains of Caria, Turkey, five kilometers west of Ortaköy in Muğla Province [1]. The site was significantly developed by the Hecatomnid dynasty, particularly by Mausolus and his brother Idrieus, who enriched it with Greek-style architecture among sacred plane trees [1] [2]. It served as the ancestral sacred shrine of the Hecatomnid dynasty, who ruled Caria as Persian satraps during the 4th century BCE [1] [3]. The ruins still display traces of Hellenistic houses and streets, along with numerous inscriptions [1].