Where Cultures Meet in the Shadow of the Taurus and Amanos Mountains Cilıcia an archaeological guide

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Where Cultures Meet in the Shadow of the Taurus and Amanos Mountains

Cılıcıa

an archaeological guide

K. Serdar Girginer - S. Haluk Uygur

Translated by

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ISBN: 978-9944-483-59-9 Cilicia

Where Cultures Meet in the Shadow of the Taurus and Amanos Mountains

K. Serdar Girginer - S. Haluk Uygur Translated by

Christopher Medwin Edens - Bakiye Yükmen-Edens Editor Nina Ergin Book Design by Sinan Turan Prepared by Homer Kitabevi Printed by

Altan Basım San ve Tic. Ltd.

100. Yıl Mah. Matbacılar Sitesi No: 222/A, Bağcılar/İstanbul Certificate No.: 11968

First Published 2014

Homer Kitabevi ve Yayıncılık Ltd. Şti. Yeni Çarşı Cad. No: 12/A

Galatasaray 34433 İstanbul Tel: (0212) 249 59 02 - 292 42 79 Faks: (0212) 251 39 62

e-mail: homer@homerbooks.com wwww.homerbooks.com

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Cilicia: Where Cultures Meet in the Shadow of the Taurus and Amanos Mountains

Introduction . . . . 11

Why is Cilicia important? . . . . 12

The Importance of Tepebağ Höyük for Cilicia . . . 13

A Forest Paradise . . . 15

Fauna . . . 16

Climate and High Pastures . . . 17

Metallurgy . . . 18

Vital Sites of the Region: Natural Passages . . . . 22

Sea and River Transportation . . . . 23

Industries of Antiquity . . . 25

Drugs, Ancient Pharmacopeia and Cosmetics . . . 27

Curative Waters . . . 29

An Important Regional Dynamic: Health Tourism . . . 30

Where is Cilicia? . . . 40

2nd_{Millennium BC Kizzuwatna and Iron Age Que and} Hilakku . . . 47

Archaeological and Natural Properties of Rough Cilicia . 55

1st_{Tour: Mersin Anamur-Bozyazı-Aydıncık-Gülnar} and the Surrounding Area . . . . 55

Anemurium . . . 57

Bozyazı . . . 60

Aydıncık . . . 63

Gülnar (Ain Bazar/Anaypazarı) . . . 67

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Contents

Archaeological and Natural Heritage of Smooth Cilicia 129

3rd_{Tour: Mersin-Tarsus and Yenice . . . 129}

Mersin . . . . 131

Tarsus . . . 137

Yenice . . . 155

4th_{Tour: Adana and its Close Surroundings . . . 157}

a. Adana City Center . . . 160

b. The Hittite Mountain Road (Adana-İmamoğlu, Kozan, Feke, Saimbeyli, Tufanbeyli, Kayseri-Develi) . . . . . 198

c. Adana Karaisalı, Pozantı (Podantos) and Aladağ (Karsantı) . . . 237

d. Adana Karataş and Yumurtalık . . . 250

e. Eastern Cilicia (Adana and Osmaniye) . . . 263

Tracing Lawazantiya, the lost sacred town of the Hittites... . . . . 269

2nd_{Tour: Mersin Taşucu-Silifke-Erdemli and the} Surrounding Area . . . 71

Taşucu . . . 73

Silifke . . . 80

Selected Bibliography . . . 313

Who is Who? . . . 328

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In Memory of Erdoğan Fikret GİRGİNER

(15 March 1937 - 15 March 2009)

Preface

Kilikya Çukurova, written with our esteemed teacher Prof. Dr. Ahmet Ünal, was completed in 2005 and published two years later by Homer Publishing; this book is still widely used by those who want to research and learn about the re-gion. We prepared the present book for publica-tion based on the experience and knowledge we acquired thanks to Kilikya Çukurova. Of course, during the six years following the publication of the earlier book new information on the area has emerged, the most important of which comes from the Tatarlı Höyük excavations which began in 2007 based on the decision of the Council of Ministers.

The motivation for writing this book is that both its Turkish and English versions are readily portable, and that it addresses readers at all lev-els. This new book includes more background information, and it is arranged in the form of a tourist guide.

Our dear and esteemed friend Dr. S. Haluk Uygur, the second author of this publication, has traveled the region step by step for many years. As a professional photographer, he has

Preface

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taken very beautiful images, and he has shared with his readers his experience and knowledge in many publications and various newspaper columns.

Thus, as a result of this experience and col-laboration, the idea was born of writing a pocket book with summary information accessible to all levels of readers and available in two languages. This book aims to explain new developments in the region in the spirit of a tour guide and to present Cilicia’s archaeological cultural heritage and natural beauty with attractive illustrations. The book proposes several tour itineraries, from west to east. One of the particular expectations from this publication is that the tourism com-munity will benefit from it.

We thank Osman Arık, the former director of İl Kültür ve Turizm who wished for this kind of work years ago, Betül Avunç who helped to move this work forward, Ayşen Boylu and Sinan Turan.

We express our gratitude to our rectors, deans and teachers, Prof. Dr. Alper Akınoğlu, Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kibar, Prof. Dr. Vedat Peştemalcı and Prof. Dr. Sadullah Sakallıoğlu, who for years encouraged our studies and generously offered their support in many ways.

We thank our travel companions Doç. Dr. M. Cihan Yavuz and Urban Planner Tevfik Yıldırım who always helped us with their studies on the subject of the brand value of Adana and the ad-vertisement of the region.

We give endless thanks to Öğr. Gör. Dr. Christopher Edens, of the Prehistory Section of the Archaeology Department at Çukurova

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University, and to Dr. Bakiye Yükmen Edens for their valuable help in preparing the English translation of this book.

Lastly, we thank Arş. Gör. Özlem Oyman-Girginer for her multi-faceted help and support during the preparation of this publication, Arş. Gör. İlkay Aklan for preparing the maps, and our students Ebru İncaman, Seda Kara, and M. Furkan Tufan.

Asst. Prof. Dr. K. Serdar Girginer Adana, March 2013 sergir@çukurova.edu.tr kserdar.girginer@gmail.com Dr. S. Haluk Uygur Adana, March 2013 halukuygur56@gmail.com Preface

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Introduction

Physical map of Cilicia

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Contrary to the meaning of its name, not all of Çukurova is flat, or a plain; it also includes mountainous and hilly areas. But because vari-ous large and small plains predominate in the landscape, the region has been named Çukurova (“pit plain”). Thus Çukurova’s plains extend 160 km from west to east and 80 km from north to south. The area, as Prof. Dr. Ahmet Ünal has pointed out, was closer to central Anatolia than to Mesopotamia (the Europe of the ancient world), and for centuries it hosted Kizzuwatna and the Cilician kingdoms.

With its land, sea and river transportation routes bridging Anatolia, Mesopotamia and the eastern Mediterranean, and with its extensive

Why is Cilicia important?

A

dana is also known

as Çukurova in

modern geography and

administration, both in

history and today. In extent

it covers today’s provinces

of Mersin (İçel), Adana,

Osmaniye, and parts of

Hatay (Antakya).

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rich agricultural lands, Çukurova was a very im-portant region for the history of civilization, and its wealth was legendary. Çukurova has sheltered people since early times, thanks to such advan-tageous features as its rich natural resources, mild climate, enclosed catchment, and wealth of flowing water. It was not merely a bridge be-tween the Mesopotamian world, central Anatolia and the Aegean region: it also created its own cultures which spread to other regions, foremost among them Hatti. Çukurova also hosted inde-pendent states, and their languages were record-ed in written texts from an early period. It is one of the rare regions of the Old World where major developments and innovations in religion, litera-ture, medicine, pharmacy, philosophy, magic and divination all occurred together.

The Importance of Tepebağ Höyük for Cilicia Adaniya (Adana), Tarše (Tarsus), and Halab (Aleppo) are among the few cities in world his-tory to appear on the historical stage even be-fore 1550 BC under names unchanged over the past 3500 years. Most capitals of large

em-Introduction

With its land, sea and river

transportation routes bridging

Anatolia, Mesopotamia and the

eastern Mediterranean, and with its

extensive rich agricultural lands,

Çukurova was a very important

region for the history of civilization,

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pires, such as Ankara, İzmir, İstanbul, Ephesus, Athens, Rome, Tokyo, and Washington, were founded at least a thousand years after Adana and Tarsus. Archaeological clues even show that towns existed at Adana and Tarsus at least 5000 years ago, long before 1550 BC, when written historical documents emerged. Excavations at Gözlükule cast light on ancient Tarsus’s se-crets, but unfortunately the situation is not the same for Adana. Archaeological traces of this city’s history are hidden within Tepebağ Höyük, in the city of Adana. Disappointingly, bureau-cratic procedures have hindered the beginning of excavations in Tepebağ Höyük. In the future, when systematic excavations are made here and at other mounds and settlements of Kizzuwatna, older traces of Adana, together with its secrets and written texts, are certain to appear.

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A Forest Paradise

The rich forests of Cilicia were an important source of timber for ship-building. Timber from Cilician forests was very durable and suitable for human use, and it was exported to Egypt throughout the Hellenistic period. Ancient sources mention the transportation of timber cut in the Taurus and Nur Mountains, floated down the Ceyhan River to the sea near Yumurtalık. In addition, much timber was exported from Coracesium (Alanya). Also, in the Göksu River basin timber was floated down the river and readily transported to Silifke.

Introduction

Disappointingly, bureaucratic

procedures have hindered the start of

excavations at Tepebağ Höyük.

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Fauna

Cilicia was very rich in both domesticated and wild animals. Hittites sent their diviners to Cilicia to watch the flight of birds or to inspect the entrails of the great bustard (HURRI) to predict the future. According to Prof. Dr. Ahmet Ünal, this bird was cut open like a sheep, so that its entrails could be examined. According to observations, a great bustard might be four times larger than a goose. With its countless deltas, marshes, reed beds and forests, the region’s ornithological landscape is extremely varied. The avian migration routes that cross it make the region a true haven for birds.

Hunting and fishing were important activities in Cilicia, because the region’s abundant forests,

The avian migration routes that cross

it make the region a true haven for

birds.

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streams, lakes and seas supported a great variety of wildlife. Among the most prominent animals were deer, wild goat, boar, wild donkey, bear, wolf, fox, jackal, lion, tiger, lynx, hyena, squir-rel, rabbit, gray partridge, duck, great bustard, quail, pigeon, geese, and woodcock. Falconry was practiced in the past, as it still is today. The meat of many of these animals was edible, but other animals were important because their skins were used in industry. The Göksu, Tarsus, Seyhan, and Ceyhan deltas sheltered many fish and bird species in the past.

Climate and High Pastures

Çukurova’s fertility and its strategic position were advantageous, but unfortunately its cli-matic conditions, and notably its hot and very humid summer months, cannot be described as beneficial to human health. Almost all travelers to Cilicia commented on its very unhealthy, ma-larial climate. But only Smooth Cilicia fits this description. The high ranges and foothills of

Introduction

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the Taurus Mountains formed part of Cilicia in ancient times, just as they do today. Evidence indicates that the tradition of moving up to the high pastures during the summer season with its stifling heat began long ago. Among such high pastures are Pozantı, Çamardı, Çamlıyayla (Namrun), Horzum, Gözne, Fındıkpınarı, Mihrican, Ayvagediği, Soğucak, Kızılbağ, Sorgun, Güzeloluk, Kırobası, Kozlar, and Gökbelen. On these high pastures, a continen-tal climate predominates, as it does in central Anatolia, and snowfall is heavy.

Metallurgy

Çukurova is a region rich in sources of iron, cop-per, lead, silver and gold. The Tunni Mountain, today’s Bolkar Dağı or Aladağ, was famous for its rich silver sources. Tunni Mountain was mentioned as “Silver Mountain” as early as the

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23rd_{century BC, in the legendary account of}

the Akkadian King Sargon’s military campaign to rescue Akkadian traders in Anatolia. Tunni Mountain is also equivalent to the “Alabaster Mulu Mountain” mentioned in the Assyrian ac-counts of Shalmaneser III’s campaign against Tabal in 837 BC. Lead and silver are still ob-tained from mines in the Bolkar Mountains.

Archaeometallurgical studies in the Cilicia, Amuq and Islahiye regions indicate through chemical and metallurgical analysis that sev-en needles and two axes from Level XVI at

Introduction

On these high pastures, a continental

climate predominates, as it does in

central Anatolia, and snowfall is

heavy.

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Yümüktepe (around 4930 BC) are the oldest metal finds in the region. These studies concluded that smelting and casting techniques were adopted in the Cilicia region by the beginning of the 5th

millennium BC. These metal artifacts represent the oldest known use of smelting and casting techniques in Anatolia.

The ore sources nearest the Cilicia-Amuq-Islahiye triangle are in the Amanos, Bolkar, and Aladağ mountain ranges. But the metal sources of Cyprus were also accessible via the sea route, and those of eastern Anatolia could be reached by way of Pazarcık-Gaziantep. Surveys indicate that the Amanos Mountains are rich especial-ly in copper. Söğüt, Güvenç, Domuzdamı and Karacaören of Hassa, Akarca near İskenderun, and Kisecik near Antakya are known sourc-es. Among these, traces of the ancient work-ing of pyrites and copper exist only at Kisecik. Arsenical pyrites might be the source of arseni-cal copper production in the region.

Minor sources of the copper ores chalcopyrite, bornite, and covellite exist at the Namrun Yaylası of Tarsus, and at Kızılca, Sarıkavak, Nergizlik and

Hittite texts also

reflect the mineral

wealth of Cilicia.

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Salısıhır Hasan Çiftlik. But we have no informa-tion about any ancient metalworking in these ar-eas. In addition, notable silver-lead, zinc and anti-mony reserves have been identified in the Aladağ Mountains and the rich mining areas of Çamardı.

Hittite texts also reflect the mineral wealth of Cilicia. Such texts mention silver, lead and cop-per ores, in addition to iron.

Recent research shows that iron is abun-dant in the Kizzuwatna area. Numerous iron sources occur in the Taurus Mountains. Among these number Rodandos/Rhodenton (Yahyalı Faraşa=Çamlıca), which was worked during Byzantine and Ottoman times, Ermenek (in the Karamanid period), Koromozo (Gürümze) in the middle section of the Ceyhan (Saros) River, and Haçin (Badimon-Saimbeyli). Iron mines also exist at Bahçe, Feke, and Osmaniye. Extraction of iron ore from mines between Mansurlu and Yahyalı is serves the Demir Çelik Factory in İskenderun.

Introduction

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Vital Sites of the Region: Natural Passages

The east-west road through the Cilicia Plain passes through Kızılgeçit at the Nur Mountain, directly behind Misis, on the way to Aleppo, and fa-cilitates movement to Hatay and north Syria.

Connections be-tween Çukurova and central Anatolia are provided by the Gülek Boğazı (Pylai Kilikias, Κιλιχιας Πύλαι), the Göksu Valley which reaches the Geyik Mountains within the Taurus range, a route which Prof. Dr. Ahmet Ünal named the “Hittite Mountain Road,” passing İmamoğlu-Kozan-Feke-Saimbeyli-Tufanbeyli, and the Gebzeli Pass. The Bahçe (Pylae Amanicae, Αμανιχαι Πύλαι)-Nur mountain pass and the Hasanbeyli-Fevzi Paşa road connect Çukurova to the Islahiye Plain and thence to southeast Anatolia and north Syria-Mesopotamia. The Belen Pass (Topboğazı) leads to the Amuq Plain and onward to Syria-Mesopotamia and the Phoenician coast; this route is shorter but more difficult, as the Crusader commanders remarked (viam difficilem sed

cunc-tarum ad Syros directessimam).

Yumurtalık Harbor Castle and Adakale in the background

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Sea and River Transportation

Cilicia’s ports had strong connections with Cyprus, Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean during Antiquity. Underwater ar-chaeological studies have found on the sea floor many items carried by ships from Egypt, Ugarit, Phoenicia, Greece, Rome, Byzantium and Genoa, which sank in Cilician waters. İskenderun, Issos,

Introduction

Cilicia’s ports had

strong connections

with Cyprus,

Egypt, the eastern

Mediterranean and

the Aegean during

Antiquity.

The Port of Mersin according to V. Baudot in 1890

A gate that controls the Strait of Gülek, through the eyes of W.H. Barlett, in 1835

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Yumurtalık-Aigaea, Karataş-Magarsos, Tarsus, Mersin-Yümüktepe, Soloi-Pompeiopolis, Lamas, Elaiussa-Sebaste, Korykos, Silifke-Holmoi-Taşucu, Aphrodisias, Nagidos, and Kelenderis were all port cities that participated in a lively maritime trade.

The Seyhan River was used for transporta-tion until recent times. An engraving made in 1853 by the traveler V. Langlois shows the city of Adana from east of Taşköprü. In the picture, a medium-sized boat with a sail is clearly vis-ible to the right and left of the bridge, in front of Tepebağ Höyük. The same traveler put similar crafts on the Ceyhan River, at Misis. Indeed, T. Kotchy, who came to Adana several years be-fore Langlois, counted “eight ships, among them

The Seyhan River was used for

transportation until recent times.

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two high Latin style crafts at Taşköprü.” Kotchy also said that “the Seyhan River near the city is so deep that it is navigable by small ships from Cyprus and northern ports up to Taşköprü.” Also in the 19th_{century, British sailors traveled up the}

Seyhan and Ceyhan Rivers in boats from their ships anchored at the mouths of these rivers, in order to hunt lions and tigers.

In Adana a public company was established at the beginning of the 1950s with the aim of dredging the Seyhan River so that steamships could reach Adana as a sea port. The project was intended to create docking and port facili-ties at Adana, but it was not carried out.

Industries of Antiquity

In general, of all the civilizations that have come and gone over time the Romans paid the great-est attention to and sought ways to take advan-tage of Anatolia’s and Cilicia’s natural wealth and diversity. Among the commodities that the Romans found and commercially developed were

Introduction

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metals, marble, timber and other forest products, grapes, fish, olive oil, wheat, and textiles. With grapes and wine, olive oil, wheat, and timber top-ping the list, a great number of items were sent to Rome and to neighboring countries. Cilicia was famous particularly for resinated wine, wine and olive oil, which were carried in amphorae. In ad-dition, sesame, barley, millet, vegetables such as beans, onions, mountain lettuce (Hyoseris

radiata), garlic, and gourds, and many kinds of fruit such as pomegranates, apricots, dates, figs, cornelian cherries, walnuts, pistachios, pine nuts, and mulberry were produced. Among the spices saffron (krokos) was a specialty of Korykos (Kızkalesi) and its surroundings, and of Anazarbos. According to Pliny, autumn crocus oil produced in Soloi was very famous. Cumin counted also among the important spices. After the 7th_{century AD, silk worms spun cocoons}

af-ter feeding on mulberry. A kind of oak tree with red fruits produced a purple color, which played a special role in Rome. A sweet-smelling perfume, used as a kind of incense to fumigate against in-sects, was made from styrax. Flowers from the same tree also produced a special honey. Other products included perfume and medicines from resinous trees, a type of oil from lilies, gum from juniper and other trees used in medicine and in

Cilicia was famous particularly for

resinated wine, wine and olive oil,

which were carried in amphorae.

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technical crafts, and soap made with bay leaves, as it is still produced today. Olive oil and wine topped the list of these products. But a kind of wine made from raisins, which Pliny called

pas-sum, was a specialty of the region. Again, as Pliny pointed out, Cilicium hypposum was prob-ably a wine produced with the addition of a plant similar to marjoram. A wine named abates, used as a purgative, was also a special to Cilicia.

Drugs, Ancient Pharmacopeia and Cosmetics

Dioscorides of Anazarbos counted among the many curative plants endemic to Cilicia Cyperus

rotundus roots, Thymus graveolens, the fruit of wild grapes, a substance made from flowers called oinanthe, Valeriana tuberosa, Tordylium

officinale, a kind of parsley named smyrnium, and teucrum, all of which he lauded for their

cu-Introduction

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rative properties. Pliny also singled out a kind of fig which grows under the leaves but never ripens, and helenthes which was used to make a perfume. In the Middle Ages, a kind of un-fermented grape juice similar to molasses was exported from Yumurtalık (Layazzo).

Most inhabitants of ancient times lived as semi-nomadic animal herders, like the Yörük of the Taurus Mountains today. Fattened sheep and goats provided meat and milk, from which was made cheese and butter. Wool and hair had a special place in Cilician industry, as did fib-er cut from long-haired goats and woven into a kind of rough cloth similar to a rug or carpet, called cilicium-κιλιχιον; this textile was exported

to Rome. The goat which produced this kind of hair is supposed to have been similar to the Ankara mohair goat (angora). However, Romans knew Cilicia as a place from which were im-ported cloth called cilicium, made from goat hair. Another product, called undo in Greek and Latin, was made of felted Cilician goat hair; this fabric was made into socks, gaiters and other footwear. According to Passi, even in Ottoman times beeswax and nuts, as well as animal skins and wool, were among the leading exports from Anatolia and İstanbul to the west.

Most inhabitants in ancient times

lived as semi-nomadic animal

herders, like the Yörük of the Taurus

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Procopius mentioned a kind of fabric made from hair, named kilikya, strong enough to fire arrows and bolts. Tents were also produced from goat hair. Flax grown in the region was woven into linen and used in sail-making. Tarsus and Anazarbos were centers of this industry. Cattle were not numerous, because of the configuration of the landscape. In the Middle Ages, horse, mule, donkey, chicken, camel, and water buffalo were commercially important, and transportation re-lied on horses, mules, donkeys and camels.

Curative Waters

Even though the region is not very rich in curative waters, it does contain a number of thermal springs. These are Acıdere, Acıman, Alihocalı, Handere, Kurttepe, Küçük Burhaniye, Çokçapınar, Dumlu, Hocantı, Kokarpınar, Narlık, Saparca, Tahtalıköy, Akçakoca, Keşbükü, Sümeişli, Feke, Söğütlü, Gözne, Kodes, Ilıca, Şekerpınar, Ulaş, and Uyuzini in the province of Adana; Reyhanlı, Erzin, Başlamış, and Batıayaz in the province of Hatay; Caili

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Köyü, Güneysu, Iğdır, Keşbükü, Akçakocali, Hocantı, Sapanca, Cennet Obruğu, and Yapraklı Esik in the province of İçel; Kokar, Avluk, Anazarbos, Ayran Menba Suyu, Ilıca, Haruniye, Yeşilova and Gebeli in the prov-ince of Osmaniye; and Çiftehan Kaplıcaları in the province of Niğde.

An Important Regional Dynamic: Health Tourism

While archaeologi-cal heritage already receives considerable attention, Cilicia’s po-tential for health tourism is today slowly com-ing to the fore. Specialists on this subject have already published detailed information, and it shall suffice here to show that this concept and dynamic did not appear abruptly; in other words, such features and customs already existed.

Kizzuwatna, with its particular

position in the geography of ancient

Anatolia, developed a very specific

medical culture.

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1. Health and Medicine in Kizzuwatna in the 2nd

millennium BC

According to archaeological and epigraphical information, the Kizzuwatna region (Cilicia’s name in the 2nd_{millennium BC) was, along}

with Mesopotamia and Egypt, one of the plac-es where medical cults were most developed in ancient times. Kizzuwatna, with its par-ticular position in the geography of ancient Anatolia, developed a very specific medical culture. Kizzuwatna’s medical culture grew from Hurrian roots. The Hittites played an im-portant role in encouraging Kizzuwatna’s medi-cal culture to flourish and become popular, and so we cannot ignore important Hittite con-tributions to the early medical culture of an-cient Cilicia, Adana’s hinterland. Even though Hurrian Kizzuwatna was occupied by many states over its history, it successfully ensured

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the continuation and development of its own culture, and it even culturally absorbed its con-querors. The most telling example of this pro-cess is the Hittite military domination that fa-cilitated strong cultural influence from Hurrian Kizzuwatna. As Prof. Dr. Ahmet Ünal has point-ed out, Kizzuwatna’s effects on Hittite culture, religion, literature, and daily life were manifold, and Kizzuwatna also transmitted cultural in-formation from Babylonia. Hittite archives are full of Kizzuwatna tablets with Hurrian or Hittite translations. Among these tablets are legends of high literary value, tales, short stories, divi-nation, magic, and medical texts. Medicine and divination are areas where Hurrian influence was especially significant. After the Hittites de-stroyed the Hatti culture, Hurrian diviners and

medical specialists filled the resulting gap by mov-ing to the Hittite capital Hattusa, where they

mar-Cilicia: Where Cultures Meet in the Shadow of the Taurus and Amanos Mountains

King Muršili traveled

to

Kizzuwatna-Kummanni

countless times

for festivals and

ritual ceremonies,

for magic, and for

medical treatment.

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keted their abilities to the Hittites. The Hittites were so influenced by the abilities of these spe-cialists that their libraries are full of magical texts of Hurrian origin.

The meaning and importance of Kizzuwatna for Hittites was like that of Mecca for Muslims today. Muwatalli II and his brother and successor Hattušili III visited Kizzuwatna because of its spe-cial religious significance. King Muršili traveled to Kizzuwatna-Kummanni countless times for festivals and ritual ceremonies, for magic, and for medical treatment. Because the Hittites were a people occupied with animal husbandry and agriculture, treatment with curative plants (herbalism) was important in medicine. In addi-tion, the influence of Hurrian and local Anatolian tribes promoted magical treatment.

The relationship between magic, medicine and religion was closer than might be sup-posed. It is difficult today to understand just

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how pervasive magic was in ancient societies. Magic gave society both security and power of resistance; it was also a successful empirical technique of medical treatment. As in other societies, Hittites used magic as a treatment when medicine failed to work, especially in the treatment of serious illnesses caused by gods and demons. Sometimes magic and medicine were so intertwined that it is very difficult to separate them from each other. Old Anatolian-Hittite magic and medicine within that magic were very important from an ethnological point of view.

According to a belief that the Hittites took over from the Hurrians, disease was closely connected to the gods. A god angered for any reason by a human being would punish that person by making him or her sick; serious, heavy or chronic illnesses were always attrib-uted to gods and demons. Another important cause of illness was black magic, which focused

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on harming the psychological well-being and spiritual balance of others. White magic offered protection from the effects of black magic.

2. Health and Medicine in Cilicia during Antiquity

According to archaeological, epigraphical and numismatic evidence, asklepieions erected in honor of the health god Asklepios were an impor-tant element in ancient Cilicia’s medical practic-es during the Hellenistic period. Cult and treat-ment centers built for the medical god Asklepios, asklepieions each had a healing chamber held sacred in human belief. Asklepieions appeared in the 6th_{century BC and served until the}

be-ginning of the 4th_{century AD. It is believed that}

few of them were as fully equipped as those at Epidauros, Kos, and Pergamon, and that most of them consisted simply of a temple. These temples, symbols of Asklepios’s health cult, were the oldest medical centers of Antiquity where patients from around the region gathered for treatment. Many asklepieions were erected in salubrious places, often near thermal springs.

In Antiquity, the Asklepios cult was so im-portant that it was represented on coins. All societies of Antiquity showed interest in Asklepios because of the significance of health, and inevitably this god was a popular theme

Introduction

According to a belief that the Hittites

took over from the Hurrians, disease

was closely connected to the gods.

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36

on coins. The coins of many Cilician cities in different periods depict Asklepios. Coins from Aigeia (modern Yumurtalık) and Airenopolis (Haruniye-Düziçi) in particular often depicted the Asklepios cult.

As in other parts of the ancient world, dedi-cations to Asklepios and the health goddess Hygieia were common in Cilicia. Cilicia hosted one of the most important medical centers of the ancient world, which Prof. Dr. Mustafa H. Sayar considers to be a feature that distinguished Cilicia from other regions. The asklepieion in Aigeia was among the three foremost health centers of the ancient world; the other two were in Pergamon and Kos (İstanköy). Aigieia was founded as a Macedonian colony in today’s district of Yumurtalık, and it became Smooth Cilicia’s largest port and one of the important fortified harbors of ancient Cilicia. The city’s asklepieion was very famous. Caracalla visited the city in the summer of 215 AD, and at its asklepieion rid himself of his afflictions.

An inscription found near the ancient city of Osmaniye–Hieropolis/Kastabala in east-ern Cilicia mentions offerings to the fire god Theos Pyretos. The word “fire” in the health god’s name comes from the Latin febris, which

Coins from Aigeia (modern

Yumurtalık) and Airenopolis

(Haruniye-Düziçi) in particular often

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means “heat of the human body.” This god was apparently worshipped in relation to ma-laria, which until recently was quite common Çukurova. Malaria very probably was prevalent in this region also in ancient times, and Theos Pyretos was worshipped to treat this illness. According to Strabo, Artemis Perasia’s cult center and temple were in Kastabala where this cult flourished, especially during the sec-ond half of the 2nd_{century AD, along with the}

cults dedicated to Zeus Helios and Zeus Soter. An inscription from Misis-Mopsuhestia connects ancient Cilicia with the Artemis Leukophryene cult, the center of which was lo-cated in Maeandros Magnesia in Ionia. The ap-pearance of the Artemis Leukophryene cult in Cilicia most probably reflects emigrants from Magnesia who settled in Antioch (modern Antakya) on the banks of the Orontes (Turkish:

Introduction

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38

Asi) River and then, via their trade relations with Cilicia, introduced the cult of this health goddess to Mopsuhestia (modern Misis) on the banks of the Ceyhan River.

Moreover, it is known that a temple of Athena Magarsia existed in Karataş-Magarsos, an im-portant port town of ancient Cilicia, and that Alexander the Great stopped there and made offerings while on his way east. Also, an inscrip-tion found in a village west of ancient Anazarbos mentions offerings made to the health god-dess Euthenia. Lastly, the Apollo cult was also well known in Antiocheia ad Cragum in Rough Cilicia, in Direvli, Claudiopolis, Laertes and Sarnıçbeleni, and also in Seleucia and Tarsus in central Cilicia.

A bust found in Kozan-Ferhatlı is related to the health cult of Athena/Minerva, which gained importance in the Roman imperial era. An altar dedicated to Zeus Kerausios was found

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at Uzunoğlan Tepe in 1999. This discovery im-plies that a cult place of this health god, who was worshipped as lightning god in Çukurova as elsewhere during Roman imperial times, existed in the area of Uzunoğlan Tepe. Apart from these two cults, the inscription on a circu-lar altar found at Uzunoğlan Tepe includes the name of Hygieia. These data from the region indicate that Hellenistic-period health cults and temples, which also functioned as treatment centers attached to the cults, ceded their place to more scientific medical centers during the Roman period.

In ancient Rome baths called thermae func-tioned not only as places of treatment, but also as places of social interaction for the impe-rial elites. St. Thekla was one of the important names related to health in this period. When she settled at Meryemlik near Silifke, she established a medical center there. Anazarbos was anoth-er important health centanoth-er in Roman Cilicia. Anazarbos, significant especially for wine pro-duction and the hemp industry, was the home town of Dioskurides (Dioscorides), a renowned expert on medicine and medicinal plants.

Introduction

An inscription found in a village

west of ancient Anazarbos mentions

offerings made to the health goddess

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Where is Cilicia?

Compared to other regions of Anatolia, Cilicia has a very distinctive character, and one can find here features unmatched anywhere else. Most crucially, Cilicia has the largest and richest coastal plain of Turkey and the Near East.

Today’s Çukurova is separated from the cen-tral Anatolian plateau by the Taurus Mountains, the highest points of which are Bolkarlar (3337 m), Aladağlar (3756 m) and Tahtalı Dağlar (2419 m) to the north and northwest. Çukurova is delimited to the east by the Amanos (Nur)

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Mountains, which stretch 175 km north-south between Kahramanmaraş and Antakya; the range varies from 15 to 30 km in width, and it reaches 2240 m in height (for example, at Mığır Tepe). Çukurova extends westward to the lower Tarsus Plain around Mersin; the Mediterranean Sea, which the ancient authors called the Cilicia Sea (Κιλιχια θαλασα), forms its southern edge.

A Miocene limestone plateau surrounds the plain at an average height of 800-1000 m; this plateau forms the southern skirt of the high Middle Taurus Mountains, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The plain itself extends more or less to Mersin, where the limestone plateau

Introduction

Cilicia has the largest and richest

coastal plain of Turkey and the Near

East.

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approaches the sea. The coastal plain becomes very narrow beyond Mersin, west of Erdemli-Limonlu which forms the border between the two Cilicias, and with some exceptions the pla-teau almost ends. The coastline from here to the Alanya Plain is, apart from a few deltas and small plains, steep and cliff-like.

Streams and rivers, notably the Tarsus, Soğuksu (Müftü Deresi), Liparis, Sorgun, Lamas, Şeytan Deresi, Göksu and Aydıncık, have incised deep canyons into this elevated limestone formation. Indeed, a common feature of the Taşeli Plateau is the horizontally bedded limestone terraces where water flowing over thousands of years has broken deep canyons into the rock. In some places these canyons are the result of collapsing sinkholes that form un-derneath.

Eastern Çukurova, called Smooth Cilicia in ancient times, has two different sections. The Upper Plain was formed by erosion of soft lime-stone plateaus at 80 m above sea level on

av-Cilicia: Where Cultures Meet in the Shadow of the Taurus and Amanos Mountains

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erage. Its boundary to the Lower Plain, at 25 m above sea level, coincides with the Nur Mountains (Cebel-i Nur, the ancient Parion, Pagrion), or Misis Mountains, which stretch southward from Yılankale to the sea, parallel to the Seyhan River; the summit of this mountain reaches 750 m above sea level. These mountains are sections of the Taurus Mountains which have broken away as islands during geological time. Over time the plain filled with alluvial sediment, surrounding these islands and making them part of the land. From this point of view, the Adana Plains are sed-imentary in origin, created by the subsidence of the plain areas and the lifting of the mountains

Introduction

The plain itself extends more or less to

Mersin, where the limestone plateau

approaches the sea.

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44

from the Pliocene until today. In the Middle Ages, people did not live on these steep hills that had once been islands, but the Crusaders who oc-cupied the area in alliance with the Armenians regularly built castles and fortifications on top of them. Well known examples of such places in-clude Feke, Kozan, Anazarbos, Dumlu (Tumlu), Yılankale, Kastabala, Hemite (Gökçedam) and Toprakkale.

Rough Cilicia contains almost no land suit-able for agriculture, apart from some small plains and deltas that cannot be compared to the Çukurova and Antalya Plains. Notable among the latter exceptions, the Göksu River’s delta covers an area of 30x15 km around Silifke and Susanoğlu-Taşucu; one may also mention small plains at Yeşilovacık, Bozyazı, Aydıncık,

Well known examples of such places

include Feke, Kozan, Anazarbos,

Dumlu (Tumlu), Yılankale, Kastabala,

Hemite (Gökçedam) and Toprakkale.

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45

and Anamur. According to Strabo, the Limonlu (Lamos, Λαμοζ Ποταμοζ) River just west of Erdemli formed the border between the two regions. Similarly, the nearby Erdemli Stream constituted the border between the Adana and İçel Paşalıks during Ottoman times.

The Taurus Mountains fan out to the north-east from Erdemli, and the alluvium eroded over hundreds of thousands of years by the Tarsus (Kydnos, Tarsi flumen, Hierax), Seyhan (Saros) and Ceyhan (Pyramos) Rivers created a plain that counts among the world’s most important in terms of fertility. According to Xenophon, the plain, surrounded by very high mountains and seas, was very beautiful, wide and well-wa-tered; it sustained all kinds of life, and plants grew abundantly. Just like in Herodotus’s phrase about Egypt being the gift of the Nile, and just as the fertile Mesopotamian plain came into be-ing through the alluvium carried by the Tigris

Introduction

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46

and Euphrates Rivers, so it can be said that Çukurova is the gift of the Seyhan (Saros, Hittite Samri?) and Ceyhan (Pyramos, Hittite Puruna?) Rivers. Just like the Tigris and Euphrates, these two rivers once joined 12 kilometers from today’s coast, south of the Misis Mountains, and togeth-er flowed to the sea. The two rivtogeth-ers joined and separated from each other six times over the past 2400 years.

Ancient Greek and Roman writers and geog-raphers considered Cilicia to consist of two parts. Writers such as Herodotus, Ptolemy and Strabo called the very rocky, steep and mountainous section of the region Tracheia (Κιλιχια τραχέια) and Oreine Cilicia (Greek ορεινη Κιλιχια) or Cilicia

Aspera (Latin), while they named the plain to the east Pedias (Κιλιχια πεδιας), Idios Kilikia (Greek), or Cilicia Campestris (Latin). This plain east of the rugged region is now called Çukurova. The west is entirely different in topography and climate.

Ancient Greek and

Roman writers

and geographers

considered Cilicia to

consist of two parts.

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47

The rectangular region between Anamur to the southwest, Erdemli to the southeast, Taşkent (between Ermenik and Bozkır) to the northwest, and Arslanköy north of Mersin consists of a high plateau and steep rocky mountains. Inspired by its ancient names, this region even today is called “stone land” (Taşeli).

2nd_{Millennium BC Kizzuwatna and Iron Age}

Que and Hilakku

However Cilicia’s borders are defined for the 1st_{millennium BC, identifying them for the 2}nd

millennium BC is that much more difficult. Kizzuwatna, as was the case for many regions, encompassed both a core area and buffer regions to west, north and east; in addition, it sometimes temporarily expanded into adjacent areas. The buffer regions were, of course, ever fluctuating based on political developments and the shifting balance of power. Herodotus wrote that even in

Introduction

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48

his own time (5th_{century BC), Cilicia’s borders}

reached the Halys River (Kızılırmak) to the north and the Euphrates to the east. So it should not surprise us that Kizzuwatna’s territories extend-ed to somewhere east of Şanliurfa, according to a Middle Hittite text known as the Išmerika Agreement of the 15th_{century BC, or even to}

Tell Fakhariyyah in north Syria, which some re-searchers believe to have been Waššukhanni, the capital of the Mitanni state. Still an inde-pendent state at that time, Kizzuwatna’s bor-ders reached the Euphrates River. A letter of the same period, found in Maşat Höyük near Zile, tells us that Kizzuwatna stretched north of Gülek Boğazı, to Maşat Höyük and Sapinuwa-Ortaköy (Çorum). Expanding Hittite hegemony, start-ing in Tuthaliya II’s time and completed under Šuppiluliuma I, reduced the borders of the state. Šuppiluliuma launched extensive campaigns

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into north Syria, and he would not have allowed Kizzuwatna to retain a large area east of Cilicia, on the road to Syria. This border more or less coincided with the territory of King Syennesis of Cilicia, until the coming of Persian sover-eignty in 546 BC. But in the 2nd_{millennium BC}

Kizzuwatna covered a much larger area and extended beyond the Kızılırmak. Most impor-tantly at this time, in the Middle Hittite period (1450-1350 BC), the Hittite dynasty already had a Hurri-Kizzuwatna origin. In this period, even queens carried Hurrian names.

Introduction

Herodotus wrote that even in his own

time (5

th

_{century BC) Cilicia’s borders}

reached the Halys River (Kızılırmak)

to the north and the Euphrates to the

east.

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50

Kizzuwatna in the 2nd_{millennium BC and}

Cilicia in the 1st_{millennium BC covered about}

40,000 square kilometers, an area much larg-er than today’s Çukurova. It stretched across a very large region from the area between Manavgat and Anamur, at the eastern borders of Pamphylia, to the Kilikiai Pylai east of the Gulf of İskenderun which ancient writers called Myriandus (near İskenderun) or the Gulf of Issos (Issikos Kolpos). According to some scholars, the western border even extended to Korakesion (Coracesium, Alanya), the Melas River (for Pliny,

Defining the border between

Cappadocia and Cilicia is, in fact,

impossible. The ridges of the Taurus

Mountains may be considered to

create a border in this region.

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51

Melas was finis antiquus Ciliciae) or to Selinus (Gazipaşa). It is thought that the eastern border was around Kap Rhosus (modern Akıncı, Arsuz, Ra’s al-Khanzir, Domuz Burnu) in the Hatay region. Therefore, Cilicia’s coast covered a re-spectable distance, some 520 km.

Defining the border between Cappadocia and Cilicia is, in fact, impossible. The ridges of the Taurus Mountains may be considered to create a border in this region. But the number of moun-tain ranges increases east of Gülek Boğazı, and here defining the border becomes more difficult. Çukurova was known under various names in the 2nd_{millennium BC. Kizzuwatna is the}

old-est name now identifiable in the written sources. Cuneiform texts from various archives mention the name variably as Kizzuwatna, Kizwatana,

Introduction

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52

Kizzuatna, Kizwatna, and Gizzuatna. In the Luwian hieroglyphic script the name is writ-ten as Kizuwana on the Hittite Fıraktin rock re-lief, and as Ká-zuwa-na at Emirgazi.

Que, the name of Smooth Cilicia in the 1st

millennium BC, was also a name of Hurrian ori-gin. Almost every tribe that came to Çukurova gave its own name to the region. Thus, in the 1st_{millennium BC local}

kingdoms newly found-ed in the region were called by various names. Neo-Assyrians called this area Que, Hilakku, Kisuatni, Tabal, and Unqi, and each of these names identified a specific part of the region.

It is necessary to emphasize here that the name Cilicia comes from Hilakku.

The name Amuq comes from Unqi, in Aramaic

‘mq, meaning “valley, plain.” The Babylonians called this area Hume and Pirindu, but some lo-cal kingdoms were given different names, such as Azatiwataya, and so on. In Egyptian sources, the name is rendered as q.s.wa.d.na (Qiswadna). It is believed that QDY (Qode), the name of both the territory and the kingdom, was equivalent to Kizzuwatna, which some Egyptian sources

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mention in the reigns of Tuthmosis III, Ramses II and Ramses III. Aramaic inscriptions refer to Cilicia as HLK/HLKYN. Coins minted in Tarsus and Nagidos in the 4th_{century BC also wrote}

KLK or HLK (HLK) in Aramaic.

Introduction

Que, the name of Smooth Cilicia in

the 1

st

_{millennium BC, was also a}

name of Hurrian origin. Almost every

tribe that came to Çukurova gave its

own name to the region.

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Archaeological and Natural Properties of

Rough Cilicia

1

st

_{Tour: Mersin}

Anamur-Bozyazı-Aydıncık-Gülnar and the

Surrounding Area

The ancient city of Anemurium

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Route 1: It is possible to reach Mersin from Manavgat-Alanya and the Gazipaşa Highway which is 260 km long and takes 4 hours with private and 5 hours with public transportation. One can also reach Mersin over Konya-Karaman-Mut-Gülnar-Aydıncık. Route 1 1- Anemurium 2- Köşekbükü Mağarası 3- Mamure Kalesi 4- Nagidos 5- Ala Köprü 6- Arsinoë 7- Softa Kalesi 8- Kelenderis 9- Aynalı Göl Mağarası 10- Aphrodisias 11- Yeşilovacık 12- Büyükeceli 13- Meydancıkkale

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Anemurium

The ruins of ancient Anemurium are 6 km southwest of Anamur. Anemurium was one of the most important Roman ports in the eastern Mediterranean because a land route linked it to central Anatolia via Germanikopolis (Ermenek), and because it was also close to Cyprus. Its most prominent remains

include the town walls, baths, a theater, an ode-on, a palestra, the port avenue, mosaics, a very well-preserved necropo-lis, an agora, streets, an aquaeduct, and churches and basilicas. Excavations were under-taken by J. Russell in the 1960s.

The ancient town oc-cupied Anamur Burnu, which is the most south-erly point of Anatolia. One can comfortably see Anamur Burnu’s town on foot. A light house serves as

refer-1st_{Tour: Mersin Anamur-Bozyazı-Aydıncık-Gülnar and the Surrounding}

Area

Mersin can also be reached by sea, from Cyprus. The Girne-Anamur ferry takes only 2 hours.

Alternatively, one can use the Girne-Taşucu ferries. There are frequent trains and buses from Adana to Mersin.

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ence point. The shore features beautiful beach-es suitable for swimming and sunbathing during the summer months. Several restaurants serve hungry visitors.

Anamur Museum: Opened in 1992, the mu-seum contains around 9000 objects, and the exhibition displays finds notably from the exca-vations at Nagidos, Anemurium and Kelenderis. Ethnographic objects are also exhibited. The museum is in Yalıevler Mahallesi, Atatürk Caddesi at Fahri Görgülü Caddesi.

Alaköprü: In 1230 the Seljuks built a bridge across the Dragon Çayı in the vicinity of Anamur. Even today it remains in usable condition.

Mamure Castle: Mamure Castle is 6 km east of Anamur on the seashore, along the main road with its magnificent view. It was founded by the Romans in the 3rd_{and 4}th_{centuries AD. It was}

also used in later periods, and the castle’s pre-sent form dates to the time of the Seljuk Sultan Alâeddin Keykubat. The castle carries the name

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Mamure, meaning “prosperous place,” because it underwent many improvements.

An Ottoman mosque inside the castle is still in use. It is well worth visiting the mosque, walk-ing on the castle’s formidable walls, and enjoywalk-ing the seaviews beyond the walls. Restaurants, pen-sions and beach clubs are numerous, because the castle attracts many visitors to the region. It is a popular holiday area, especially during the summer months. The Pullu Mesire (picnic site) provides service to day-trippers and campers.

1st_{Tour: Mersin Anamur-Bozyazı-Aydıncık-Gülnar and the Surrounding}

Area

Alaköprü: In 1230 the Seljuks built a

bridge across the Dragon Çayı in the

vicinity of Anamur.

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Köşekbükü Mağarası: About 10 km north of Ovabaşı village, the stalagmites and stalac-tites of this cave make it a place of great natural beauty. People of the area come to the cave for the treatment of ailments such as asthma and infertility.

The cave was formed over millions of years and, according to information provided by the Directorate of Culture and Tourism in Mersin, its three different sections are called Cure, Repose and Wish.

Bozyazı

Nagidos and Nagidussa: Nagidos is an ancient settlement in the central mountains of Cilicia. It is in the Bozyazı district, 10 km east of Anamur.

Köşekbükü Cave

Nagidos is an ancient settlement in

the central mountains of Cilicia. It is

in the Bozyazı district, 10 km east of

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Today a necropolis is to be found on the hillsides of the Paşabeleni Tepesi with its acropolis (up-per city). The Anamur Museum excavated the necropolis of the ancient city in 1985-86, and later Serra Durugönül also conducted scientific excavations in the acropolis and necropolis in 1998-2003.

The upper city was founded on a hill and en-closed with a wall by colonists who probably originated from Samos. Bozyazı Island, ancient Nagidussa, lies in the sea, just 200 m opposite the mainland settlement at Nagidos. Medieval and Ottoman walls exist on the island, while walls belonging to the 4th_{century BC may be}

seen on the mainland. During the 2nd

millen-nium BC the town lay within the borders of the land of Tarhundassa. Nagidos’s 7th_{century BC}

Samian colony, perhaps an emporion opened for trade, earned a reputation as a port town. In the late 5th_{and early 4}th_{centuries BC this port}

town –like Kelenderis, Holmoi, Soloi and Mallus– began striking its own coins.

Area

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Bozyazı’s long beach is today an important vacation site. The government-run teachers’ house (Öğretmenevi), establishments rang-ing from a four-star hotel to family pensions, and restaurants may be found. The long beach is also where the Caretta caretta turtle lays its eggs.

Arsinoë (Maraş Tepesi): This city was found-ed by people from Nagidos at the found-edge of the sea, 2 km east of Bozyazı (Nagidos), and 15 km east of Anamur. It was named for Arsinoë, the sister and wife of Ptolemy II Philadelphos (283-246 BC) of Egypt. Some houses belonging to the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period, two Late Roman baths, churches with mosaics, and barrel-vaulted tombs are visible. A small cove

Kelenderis was one of Rough Cilicia’s

most important port towns.

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just west of the ancient town, between Arsinoë and Belen Tepesi, was probably used as a port.

Softa Kalesi (Syke): The ancient castle is built on a hill on the Silifke road 10 km east of Bozyazı. It was repaired and used in the Byzantine period and in medieval times. To en-ter the castle you should be prepared for a climb of approximately 200 m.

A bridge thought to belong to the Roman pe-riod crosses the Bozyazı Çayı. Unfortunately it has collapsed.

Aydıncık

Kelenderis (Kelenderitis-Gilindire): Kelenderis was one of Rough Cilicia’s most important port towns. Following work by Adana Museum’s staff in the necropolis in 1971, Levent Zoroğlu has conducted scientific excavations from 1986 un-til the present day. The place was established by colonists from Samos, and results of the excava-tions indicate that its history goes back to the 6th

century BC. Remains visible on the site are the port, the port castle, the theater, the Late Roman

Area

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bath, storehouses, the east and west necropo-leis, rock-cut tombs, tombs with a dromos, vaulted tombs and the baldachined cenotaph.

The latter is a monu-mental structure with a pyramidal roof known popularly as Dört Ayak (Four Footed) or Dört Direk (Four Pillared). Built in the Roman imperial period (late 2nd_{to early}

3rd_{century AD), the cenotaph is a square}

struc-ture with a pier at each corner (tetrapylon) and arches forming the sides that carry the pyrami-dal roof. Foreign travelers coming to Kelenderis saw this tomb and produced etchings of it.

Other features of the site include regular aq-uaeducts, a Late Antique church, mosaic floors and a sinkhole within which was carved a figure in relief. Nine rock-cut tombs and five life-size hu-man figures carved in relief appear on the high rock face about 400 m from the sinkhole. The town was the easternmost member of the Delian

Foreign travelers

coming to

Kelenderis saw

this tomb and

produced etchings

of it.

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League, and the League struck coins with the name of Nagidos in the middle of the 5th_century

BC. The port was a point of contact for travel-ers between Anatolia and Cyprus. A floor mosaic exposed in 1991 depicts the town and the port.

An Ottoman caravanserai is locally known as Han Yeri or Han Yıkığı.

Aynalıgöl: Aynalı Göl Cave is east of Kelenderis, at Aydıncık in the area of Gemi Durağı (Sancak Burnu). The cave, where Neolithic and Chalcolithic pottery has been found, features rather imposing stalactites and stalagmites. The cave is named after the 140 m long lake with-in it. The lake takes the name aynalı göl (“re-flecting lake”) from the cave’s reflection in the water. The cave is now open to visitors via the Çukurova Kalkınma Ajansı. One can comfort-ably enter the cave as far as the lake.

One can reach the cave by following the signs on the road from Aydıncık to Mersin, then tak-ing the road straight to the sea. Aydıncık is a vacation town, and the Öğretmenevi offers

ac-1st_{Tour: Mersin Anamur-Bozyazı-Aydıncık-Gülnar and the Surrounding}

Area

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commodations. In the summer months the mu-nicipality also operates bungalows.

Yeşilovacık: The few ruins here belong to an-cient Camardesium, on a peninsula northwest of Yeşilovacık along the Silifke-Aydıncık road. The town’s remains are in the area of the landing. Yeşilovacık is a vacation spot for visitors attracted by sea and sand.

Aphrodisias (Tisan Yarımadası): Kilikya Aphrodesias,

as the town is known, was proba-bly founded in the 7th_{century BC}

near Yeşilovacık on the Ovacık peninsula (Ovacık Burnu, Cap Cavaliere). It is commonly as-sumed to have been a Greek col-ony. Given the peninsula’s steep sides, Aphrodisias would have been accessible only from the sea in ancient times. After a long period of Egyptian Ptolemaic rule, the city was recaptured by Antiochus III in 197 BC. The St.

Aynalıgöl Cave

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Pantaleon Church within the city has mosaics dated to the 4th_{century AD, but the church}

has not been researched. The church was probably destroyed during the Isaurian rebellion and uprising of the 6th_{century. The}

walls and the two harbors on the eastern and western sides of the

peninsula are thought to be Hellenistic in date. Cisterns, tombs, and castle walls are evident. During the summer you will be able to enjoy yourself along the coast, as there are restaurants associated with a beach club and since swim-ming in the sea is possible.

Dana Adası (Pityussa): This island, 3 x 1.5 km in size, is 40 km west of Silifke, 3 km from the Mavikent Beach in the vicinity of Aphrodisias. The island has numerous Late Roman and Early Byzantine buildings. Among them are a church on a hill, sarcophagi, and many Roman villas, each with a large cistern, on the north side of the island, and baths.

Gülnar (Ain Bazar/Anaypazarı)

Büyükeceli (Berenike): The town was named after Queen Berenike, the wife of the Egyptian

Area

Given the peninsula’s

steep sides, Aphrodisias

would have been

accessible only from the

sea in ancient times.

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king Ptolemy III Soter. Although the location of the town is not certain, it is thought to be at Büyükeceli (Yalazlu). The place may be reached via a road along Çağlayık Deresi, which forms a 20 km long link to Meydancıkkale. Near the spring flowing towards the sea may be seen re-mains of several buildings (Kargılı Church) and probably a bath and a cistern. Numerous triclin-ium and arcosoltriclin-ium stone tombs are on the hill slopes northwest of the paved road.

Tokmar Kalesi (Castellum Novum, Norberd?):

This medieval castle, at the 22 km marker on the Taşucu-Antalya road, was founded high on

Dana Island

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a rocky cliff overlooking the lower part of Tahta Limanı. The castle was built from bonded polyg-onal stones, and it has semi-circular bastions.

Meydancıkkale: This mountain town, thought to be the ancient Kirsu, is 9 km south of Gülnar, in the vicinity of Tırnak Köyü, 15 km from the sea as the crow flies. It covers an area meas-uring 750 x 150 m on a steep, 70 m high hill. The French archaeologist A. Davesne excavated here in 1978-1994. Remains from the Persian, Late Roman and Byzantine periods may be seen in the town. Among the ruins are a monumental entry gate, a damaged tomb dating to before the Achaemenids (6th_{century BC), a cistern, and}

reliefs of the Achaemenid period which reflect Persian influence. Scholars agree that the town is the Kirsu that appears in Babylonian sources.

Area

The town was named after Queen

Berenike, the wife of the Egyptian

king Ptolemy III Soter.

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2

nd

_{Tour: Mersin}

Taşucu-Silifke-Erdemli and the Surrounding Area

Coast of Taşucu-Mersin

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Route 2: There are flights from İstanbul and Ankara to Adana Şakirpaşa Airport every day. One can reach Silifke and Erdemli by bus from Adana and Mersin.

Route 2

1- Taşucu/Holmoi

2- Göksu Deltası Kuş Cenneti 3- Boğsak Kalesi 4- Liman Kalesi 5- Mylai 6- Sırtlanini Mağarası 7- St. Thekla 8- Silifke Kalesi 9- Silifke Müzesi 10- Atatürk's House 11- Silifke/Kalykadnos

12- Aşağı Dünya Obruğu 13- Koraseion 14- Kız Kalesi 15- Cennet-Cehennem Obruğu 16- Elaiussa Sebaste 17- Akkale-Tırtar 18- Kanytelleis 19- Adamkayalar 20- Emirzeli 21- Lamas Kalesi 22- Öküzlü 23- Cambazlı 24- Diocaesarea 25- Olba

26- Keben Kaya Anıtı 27- Karacaoğlan 28- Mavga Kalesi 29- Kozlar Yaylası 30- Alahan Manastırı 31- Dağpazarı 32- Aladağ 33- Yerköprü Şelalesi

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Sırtlanini Cave provides clear evidence that peo-ple were already living in this region during the Palaeolithic period. The Taşucu region is karstic in its geological structure, and for this reason boasts countless caves. Preliminary research conducted here in 1957 by I.K. Kökten showed that Sırtlanini is a deep cave containing small ter-races. The cave, 20-30 m above sea level, yield-ed a beautifully made flint point and other sim-ple tools belonging to the Aurignacian, or Upper Palaeolithic period (around 40,000 years before

2nd_{Tour: Mersin Taşucu-Silifke-Erdemli and the Surrounding Area}

Taşucu

S

ırtlanini Cave is in Taşucu, formerly

called Mansuriye Mahallesi in the

Ottoman period, just 10 km west of Silifke.

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the present). The extraordinary beauty of the cave rivals its archaeological value. Its entrance is now blocked by a concrete septic tank belong-ing to neighborbelong-ing buildbelong-ings, which is cause for great concern. It is not possible to enter the cave.

Taşucu (Holmoi, Sancto Theodoro, San Todaro, Liman İskelesi, Silifke İskelesi):

Although the location of the ancient town is not certain, it probably was at Taşucu Kasabası, 9 km southwest of Silifke. According to Skylax, Sarpedon is “an abandoned town” (polis eremos) near Soloi. According to the Stadiasmos, it lay between Sarpedon (Bagase) Point and Mylai (Manastır), which corresponds more or less to today’s Taşucu. Holmoi was founded in the 7th