Letoon Turkey, was a sanctuary of Leto near the ancient city Xanthos in Lycia. It was one of the most important religious centers in the region. Leto was one of the female Titans, a bride of Zeus, and the mother of the twin gods Apollo and Artemis. She was the goddess of motherhood and, with her children, a protectress of the young. Her name and iconography suggest she was also a goddess of modesty and womanly demure.
The archaeological finds at the site, date back to the late sixth century BC. The foundations of the Hellenistic temple dedicated to Leto, and her children, Artemis and Apollo, have been excavated under the direction of H. Metzger from 1962. Archeologists have excavated much of the ruins; discoveries include the Letoon trilingual, bearing inscriptions in Greek, Lycian and Aramaic, which has provided crucial keys in the deciphering of the Lycian language; it is conserved in the Fethiye Museum.
The sun was beginning to set as I sketched among the ruins. I remember a cat wandering among the ancient collapsed pillars and an incredible army of tadpoles in a large puddle at the base of the temple. I could hear the evening prayers as they re broadcast from the high minaret in the distance. Muslims across the country would stop what they were doing when this call to prayer echoed through he villages.