The magic flair of Lake Bafa and the Latmos Mountains is best told with the
myth of Endymion:
Endymion was a shepherd leading his flock through the
byzarre rocks of Mount Latmos. He played his flute so well that Selene,
Goddess of the Moon fell in love with him. But Zeus also fell in love with
him and was jealous of Selene. So Zeus intrigued against Selene and damned
Endymion to infinite sleep and eternal youth. But Selene found her lover
sleeping in Mount Latmos and every time there was a full moon she climbed
down and made love with him. They say that Selene gave birth to 50 daughters
and that today when the moon is full it is like the Moon kisses the Latmos.....
The mountain was also known for the Old Man of Mount Latmos, who was a wild-weather godess. The origin of the cult is not known, but in the Latmos Mountains there are several ancient cult centres.
The biggest of which is Gerga. It is totally unique and not very well understood even now. Gerga was a holy place with no settlement. The most noticeable building is the Temple which is built in stone but constructed like a wooden temple. The most striking feature of the site, where almost everything is strange, is the way in which the name Gerga has been written again and again, in over 50 places, on rocks in the area. There are noticeably many different stones resembling standing stones. Even today nobody knows when and for how long this place was in use.
Other cult places, again not well described, are behind the Latmos Mountains near Bağırcık village and another in Ekiztaş. Both places contain a very large stone, similar to a standing stone, with steps leading onto the top. But not much is known about these. However, the location of Labranda in the same mountains emphasizes the importance of the Latmos Mountains in the pre-Hellenistic era. Other evidence is that on a sarcophagus from Roman times is a figure of the Old Man of Mount Latmos; it is known that Romans integrated the gods of the cultures they oppressed. There are many interesting questions about past times to be answered in this region.
