Chimaera Eternal Flames

Smell the air before you look. There is a faint sharpness in it, like a gas ring left on for a second too long. Then you see the flames. They sit in hollows in the bare rock, some the size of a candle, others as tall as a person. They do not flicker like a campfire. They lean and steady themselves, hissing softly. The rock around each one is black and warm. Put your hand near it and you will feel the heat push back.

This slope is called Yanartaş in Turkish, which means burning stone. It sits above the village of Çıralı, on the lower flank of the mountain. The flames are spread over a rough terrace of broken limestone, not a single fire pit. Walk between them carefully. Some vents are only a small crack with a blue tongue of fire above it. Others have been enlarged over the years by visitors clearing away rubble and stones.

Getting here is a walk, not a drive. A stone path climbs from the car park through pine forest. It takes most people twenty to thirty minutes going up, longer coming down in the dark. The steps are uneven and polished by thousands of feet. There is no lighting on the path. Take a torch or a headlamp, and take water. Handrails exist on some sections and not on others, so watch your footing near the drops.

What burns here is gas seeping up through the rock. Methane makes up most of it. Ordinary natural gas comes from buried organic material, but the gas at this site appears to form differently. Geologists connect it to chemical reactions between water and iron-rich rock from deep in the earth, which has been pushed up to the surface along this coast. In other words, the fuel here is made by the rock itself rather than by ancient plants and animals.

It does not go out. Cover a vent with a stone or a jacket and the flame will stop, then reappear when you lift it away. That trick is popular with visitors, and it is harmless if you are quick. Individual vents do change. Some fade over the years and new ones open a few metres away. The overall field of fire has been burning continuously as long as anyone has recorded it, which is a very long time.

The season makes a real difference. In summer daylight the flames are pale and easy to miss, and the walk is hot. In autumn and winter they look stronger, partly because the air is cooler and the contrast is greater. Damp weather also seems to sharpen them. Almost everyone agrees on one thing — come after dark. The whole slope turns into scattered points of orange light, and you will hear the hiss much more clearly.

The Greeks had an explanation. The Chimaera was a monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and a snake for a tail, and it breathed fire. Homer places it in Lycia, the ancient region of this coast. The hero Bellerophon killed it while riding the winged horse Pegasus, then drove the creature down into the earth. Legend has it that these flames are the monster still breathing underground.

People built here because of the fire. Around the flames you can find cut stone, wall lines and the low remains of buildings. Ancient visitors linked the site to Hephaistos, the Greek god of fire and metalworking, and a sanctuary stood on this slope. Later a Christian church was raised nearby, reusing older blocks. Look for squared stone half buried in the grass, and for the level terraces that are clearly not natural.

Sailors are often said to have used the flames as a landmark, steering by them at night along a coast with few harbours. Ancient writers mention fire on this mountain, though the details of how it was used are thin. Treat the navigation story as tradition rather than record. What is certain is that this fire was known, written about and visited in antiquity, which makes it one of the longest-running attractions on the Mediterranean.

Local families have long grazed animals on these slopes, and there is a small tea stall on the way up in season. Visitors sometimes brew tea or toast bread over the vents. If you do, take everything away with you. The site is inside a protected area, and litter around the flames spoils it quickly. Keep children close, and keep loose clothing and long hair away from the openings. The flames are low but they are real fire.

Practical points for the return. The path down is harder than the path up, because your eyes have adjusted to firelight. Give them a minute in the dark before you start walking. Wear shoes with proper soles rather than sandals. If you came from Çıralı on foot, the road back to the beach is unlit as well. Many guesthouses run a shuttle in the evening, which is worth asking about before you set out.

Find a flat rock, sit down and stop moving for a few minutes. Above you the mountain is black. Below, through the pines, you might catch a light from the village and, beyond it, the sea. The fires around you were burning when the first ships came along this coast, and they will still be burning after your bus leaves in the morning. Very few things you visit can honestly claim that. Then pick up your torch and go.