Lycia
The monumental work of M.G.F.A. Choiseul-Gouffier expressed the love of antiquity and the philhellenism of its time in a new and original fashion, establishing at the same time (around the late 18th and early 19th century) the primacy of image, or graphic representation, in travel chronicles. Choiseul - Gouffier publishes maps, views and plans of the antiquities (the theatre, sarcophagi, architectural elements and Lycian tombs) of ancient Telmessos, then after known as Makri.
The impressive coloured engravings by L. Mayer were published a few years later (1803). They include views of ancient Telmessos as well as Myra and ancient Andriake (the ancient theatre, baths, Lycian tombs and sarcophagi, remains of Roman buildings). In his highly popular paintings (1810), L. Mayer did not limit himself to depicting ancient monuments; he added several picturesque details from people's everyday lives as well. The travel accounts by French merchant and treasure hunter P. Lucas (1712), which include depictions of rare subjects, caused a sensation all over Europe.
The anchorages of the area are mapped in the port index by J. Roux (1804), the chronicle of Ed.D. Clarke (1814), highly important for its insightful observations on modern life in the areas visited by the author, and the account by British hydrographer Fr. Beaufort (1817), who explored all of the southern coast of Asia Minor. The latter chronicle includes views of Lycian sarcophagi in Kekova and the ancient theatre of Patara.
As with his other works, in “Journal of a tour in Asia Minor”, the British topographer W.M. Leake (1824) provides systematic and detailed archaeological observations.
The articles, essays and travel accounts collected by R. Walpole (1820), together with the accompanying illustrations, touch on rarely treated subjects and thus constitute valuable sources of information on the antiquities, history and natural environment of Lycia.
French archaeologist F.M.Ch. Texier concentrated and systematized all available knowledge on Asia Minor in his three-volume work “Description géographique, historique et archéologique des provinces et des villes de la Chersonnèse d'Asie” (1839-1849). The 1882 reprint includes inscriptions, views of places and tombs and plans of monuments in Telmessos, Tlos, Xanthos, Antiphellus, Myra, Cyaneae, Aperlae and Patara. The subsequent work by F.M.Ch. Texier (1864) constituted a landmark in studies of Byzantine architecture in Asia Minor. It includes the first drawings and plans of the important Christian monument in Myra.
Around the same period (1839), Ch. Fellows publishes the account of his tours with views, drawings and plans of several monuments. Many of those were transported to Britain in their entirety on Fellows' initiative, and are now housed in the British Museum.
The chronicle of J.H. Allan's voyage in the Mediterranean was published in 1843, with several views of the locations Allan had visited during his journey. Ancient Telmessos or Makri provided abundant material for this work, as a large number of antiquities is found around the city.
A series of engravings and watercolours of landscapes, details of space and human types are included in the work of P. Jeancard (1919); they were based on the author's own drawings, and are reminiscent of photographic shots.
Written by Ioli Vingopoulou