Articles

Grammata Bay or Grama Bay (Bay of Letters .gr), is located at the ends of the western slope of Karaburun, in an uninhabited area. The bay in antiquity, has been served as one of the largest quarries on the Karaburun peninsula, which has been used since the 6th century BC. Kr. In this quarry, the shrine has been used at a height of 130 m and at a width of 100 m. After the abandonment of the quarry, starting from the III century B.C, on the flat sites created by the cutting and removal of rock blocks, prayers are engraved by sailors or travelers, who took refuge in this bay to escape the storms. This tradition of recording prayers has continued throughout the Middle Ages, but now they are detected in the Christian cult, until the XIX century.  The inscriptions are engraved in square, oval, circular frames, tabula ansata in some cases with an edicule etc. Most of the ancient inscriptions in the Greek language are addressed to Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, who are the savior, protector deity of sailors. During the Hellenistic period the bay served as an open sanctuary dedicated to these entrances. On these inscriptions are included the names of historical figures, such as that of Cnaeus Pompeius, the Byzantine emperor John V Palaeologus or Mark Antony. The number of inscriptions is thought to be about 1500 pieces.