Aydincik
Encyclopedia
Aydıncık is a town and district of Mersin Province
on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey
, 173 km (107 mi) from Mersin
and 325 km (202 mi) from Antalya
.
Aydıncık has also been called Celenderis, Gilindire, Kelenderis.
This remote coastline is mostly unspoilt and 38 kilometers long, including some sandy beach, and the town of Aydıncık is spread along the coast near a small point, Sancak Burnu.
. It was one of the best harbours of this coast in ancient times and also a very strong defensive position. Artemidorus, with other geographers, considered this place, as the commencement of Cilicia
. There must have been earlier settlement going back to the Hittites
and Assyrians but so far no evidence has been uncovered.
According to legend the city was founded by Sandocus, a grandson of Phaethon, who emigrated here from Syria
. He married Pharnace, the princess of Hyria
. Their son Cinyras
founded Paphos
. Historians reported that the city was indeed a Phoenicia
n settlement, later expanded by an Ionia
n colony from Samos
. Excavations carried out since 1986 have revealed findings going back to the 8th century B.C. when the Samians arrived.
The city thrived during the 4th and 5th centuries BC. It was a stop on the shipping lanes between the Aegean Sea
to the west, Cyprus
to the south, and Syria
to the east. In the 450s B.C. the fleets of Athens
passed by on their way to support rebellions against the Achaemenid Empire
in Cyprus
and Egypt
. During this period Celenderis became the easternmost city to pay tribute to the Athenian-led Delian league
. Payments were only made from 460 B.C. to 454 B.C. before Athens abandoned both campaigns and accepted a peace
agreement which left Celenderis in the Achaemenid-allied Kingdom of Cilicia.
During the Hellenistic era (1st century BC) Celenderis was in a political coalition with the kingdom of the Ptolemy
s of Egypt
, and faced severe difficulties from piracy. This problem persisted until Ancient Rome
took military actions against the pirates, and Celenderis enjoyed a second period of wealth as the Romans secured the Mediterranean trade routes. They built a city around the port with villas, palaces, waterworks, and baths.
During the Middle Ages
, the grandeur persisted as the city was controlled by Byzantium
, and in the 11th century the Armenians
.
In 1228 Celenderis castle was captured from the Armenians by the Karamanoğlu and the coast was settled by Turkish people
s. The town's name mutated to Gilindere and it continued to be an important port between Anatolia and Cyprus
until the beginning of the twentieth century. It was renamed Aydıncık in 1965.
s, which supply some of the earliest and finest specimens of the numismatic
art. There are also coins of the Syrian kings, and of the later Roman emperors.
There is a landlocked bay with its famous spring 1.6 km to the west at Soguksu. Here there are ancient ruins, notably a bath at the head of the bay and archaeological debris on the peninsula at its mouth. There are handsome but much destroyed rock-cut tombs at Duruhan 9.6 km to the North.
In 2002, remains of a 2400 year-old harbor was discovered underwater around the island Yılanlı Ada.
with four columns from the 2nd century. It was marked as a CENOTAPH (a monument erected as a memorial to a dead person or dead people buried elsewhere, especially people killed fighting a war) on the map of Chelindreh harbor prepared by Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort
.
This is a tetrapylon made of well-cut limestones with a rectangular burial room on the lower part, four pylons erected on this and a pyramidal roof carried by the arches of the four pylons. This type is a common one in the Roma period and may be dated to the second half of the second or early third century AD.
L. Zoroğlu, Kelenderis I, Kaynaklar, Kalıntılar, Buluntular, (Kelenderis I, Sources, Remains and Finds), Ankara 1994.
Mersin Province
The Mersin Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital is the city of Mersin and the other major town is Tarsus, birthplace of St Paul...
on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, 173 km (107 mi) from Mersin
Mersin
-Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...
and 325 km (202 mi) from Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
.
Aydıncık has also been called Celenderis, Gilindire, Kelenderis.
This remote coastline is mostly unspoilt and 38 kilometers long, including some sandy beach, and the town of Aydıncık is spread along the coast near a small point, Sancak Burnu.
History
Aydıncık is the site of ancient Celenderis, a port and fortress in IsauriaIsauria
Isauria , in ancient geography, is a rugged isolated district in the interior of South Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surroundings in the Konya province of Turkey, or the core of the Taurus Mountains. In...
. It was one of the best harbours of this coast in ancient times and also a very strong defensive position. Artemidorus, with other geographers, considered this place, as the commencement of Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
. There must have been earlier settlement going back to the Hittites
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
and Assyrians but so far no evidence has been uncovered.
According to legend the city was founded by Sandocus, a grandson of Phaethon, who emigrated here from Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. He married Pharnace, the princess of Hyria
Hyria
Hyria may refer to:*Hyria , an ancient town in Boeotia.*Hyria , an ancient town in Campania, a short distance east of Nuceria Altaferna.*Hyria, a principal Messapian town in ancient Messapia, corresponding to the modern town Oria....
. Their son Cinyras
Cinyras
In Greek mythology, Cinyras was a king of Cyprus. Accounts vary significantly as to his genealogy and provide a variety of stories concerning him; in many sources, however, he is associated with the cult of Aphrodite on Cyprus, and Adonis, a consort of Aphrodite, is mentioned as his son.In the...
founded Paphos
Paphos
Paphos , sometimes referred to as Pafos, is a coastal city in the southwest of Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos and New Paphos. The currently inhabited city is New Paphos. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, about west of the...
. Historians reported that the city was indeed a Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n settlement, later expanded by an Ionia
Ionia
Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
n colony from Samos
Samos Island
Samos is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate regional unit of the North Aegean region, and the only municipality of the regional...
. Excavations carried out since 1986 have revealed findings going back to the 8th century B.C. when the Samians arrived.
The city thrived during the 4th and 5th centuries BC. It was a stop on the shipping lanes between the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
to the west, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
to the south, and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
to the east. In the 450s B.C. the fleets of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
passed by on their way to support rebellions against the Achaemenid Empire
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire , sometimes known as First Persian Empire and/or Persian Empire, was founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation...
in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. During this period Celenderis became the easternmost city to pay tribute to the Athenian-led Delian league
Delian League
The Delian League, founded in circa 477 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, members numbering between 150 to 173, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea at the end of the Greco–Persian Wars...
. Payments were only made from 460 B.C. to 454 B.C. before Athens abandoned both campaigns and accepted a peace
Peace of Callias
The Peace of Callias is a purported treaty established around 449 BC between the Delian League and Persia, ending the Persian Wars. The peace was agreed as the first compromise treaty between Achaemenid Persia and a Greek city....
agreement which left Celenderis in the Achaemenid-allied Kingdom of Cilicia.
During the Hellenistic era (1st century BC) Celenderis was in a political coalition with the kingdom of the Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
s of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and faced severe difficulties from piracy. This problem persisted until Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
took military actions against the pirates, and Celenderis enjoyed a second period of wealth as the Romans secured the Mediterranean trade routes. They built a city around the port with villas, palaces, waterworks, and baths.
During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the grandeur persisted as the city was controlled by Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
, and in the 11th century the Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
.
In 1228 Celenderis castle was captured from the Armenians by the Karamanoğlu and the coast was settled by Turkish people
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
s. The town's name mutated to Gilindere and it continued to be an important port between Anatolia and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
until the beginning of the twentieth century. It was renamed Aydıncık in 1965.
Celenderis Coins
The town gave name to a region called Celenderitis, and coined those silver tetradrachmTetradrachm
The tetradrachm was an Ancient Greek silver coin equivalent to four drachmae. It was in wide circulation from 510 to 38 BC.-History:Many surviving tetradrachms were minted by the polis of Athens from around the middle of the 5th century BC onwards; the popular coin was widely used in transactions...
s, which supply some of the earliest and finest specimens of the numismatic
Numismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the...
art. There are also coins of the Syrian kings, and of the later Roman emperors.
Places of interest
The remains of ancient Celenderis are very few and the ruins today are mostly overlaid by the expanding modern Aydıncık. Fortifications may still be detected around the modern lighthouse on the small promontory which forms and commands the harbor.There is a landlocked bay with its famous spring 1.6 km to the west at Soguksu. Here there are ancient ruins, notably a bath at the head of the bay and archaeological debris on the peninsula at its mouth. There are handsome but much destroyed rock-cut tombs at Duruhan 9.6 km to the North.
In 2002, remains of a 2400 year-old harbor was discovered underwater around the island Yılanlı Ada.
The Port Bath
It was most probably built during fourth or fifth centuries AD. The castle on the point and the theater apparently belong to the Roman era. * About AydıncıkTombs
In the graveyards of the city, rock graves, vaulted graves and pyramid-roofed monumental graves can be seen spanning a period from the sixth millennium B.C. up to the fourth century. The majority of the items displayed at the museum are from these graves.Floor Mosaic
The mosaic discovered near the port in 1992 is an exceptional example in depicting the panorama of the city as it stood in the fifth century.The Dortayak Cenotaph
There is a large Roman CenotaphCenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
with four columns from the 2nd century. It was marked as a CENOTAPH (a monument erected as a memorial to a dead person or dead people buried elsewhere, especially people killed fighting a war) on the map of Chelindreh harbor prepared by Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort
Francis Beaufort
Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, FRS, FRGS was an Irish hydrographer and officer in Britain's Royal Navy...
.
This is a tetrapylon made of well-cut limestones with a rectangular burial room on the lower part, four pylons erected on this and a pyramidal roof carried by the arches of the four pylons. This type is a common one in the Roma period and may be dated to the second half of the second or early third century AD.
Gilindire Cave
The cave of Gilindere is about an hour's ride along the coast by small boat, and is 555m of attractive stone and crystal formations.External links
- District governor's official website
- Aydıncık
- University
- Map of Aydıncık and its environs
- Investigating the Past Beneath Aydıncık, Mersin
L. Zoroğlu, Kelenderis I, Kaynaklar, Kalıntılar, Buluntular, (Kelenderis I, Sources, Remains and Finds), Ankara 1994.