Near Kumluova in the Seydikemer district of Muğla, Letoon preserves a sanctuary that once served the ancient Lycian community. It is not the same place as Xanthos, the nearby city that was Lycia’s political capital: the two sites are distinct components of one UNESCO World Heritage property, inscribed together in 1988. UNESCO describes Letoon as the cult centre of Xanthos and the federal sanctuary of the Lycian province and League of Cities. Here, religious rites and public declarations of political decisions belonged to the same civic landscape.
The setting helps explain why a visit is different from walking through a dense urban ruin. Letoon lies in a low, open plain shaped by the Xanthos River, with archaeological remains distributed around the sanctuary. The official record identifies three temples dedicated to Leto, Artemis and Apollo, together with a nymphaeum built over a water source regarded as sacred. The surviving remains are not a complete reconstruction of ancient life; they are fragments that allow visitors to trace how worship, water and public space were brought together.