Kuşkayası is a roadside monument in Bartın Province

Bartin Province

Bartın Province is a small province in northern Turkey on the Black Sea, surrounding the city of Bartın. It is to the east from Zonguldak Province.The town of Bartın contains a number of very old wooden houses which are no longer extant in other places....

, 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...

 created in the Ancient Roman period.

Geography

Kuşkayası at 41°43′24"N 31°21′55"E is just at the north of the road connecting Amasra

Amasra

Amasra is a small Black Sea port town in the Bartın Province, Turkey. The town is today much appreciated for its beaches and natural setting, which has made tourism the most important activity for its inhabitants...

 to Bartın

Bartin

-Culture:The city hosts strawberry festivals in spring. The city also has beaches of good quality.-External links:* *...

. Part of Amasra, as well as Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

 is in the view and road distance to Amasra is about 4 km (2.5 mi). The altitude of the monument is about 350 m (1,148.3 ft). It can be reached by a staircase from the road.

History

Kuşkayası road monument is a unique structure in Turkey. It was built by the Pontus

Pontus

Pontus or Pontos is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Πόντος...

 Governor Gaius Julius Aquila for the honor of Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

 Tiberius Claudius Germanicus

Claudius

Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...

 (AD 41–54). The monument includes a statue of a headless human figure carved into rocks, the Roman eagle

Aquila (Roman)

The Aquila was the eagle standard of a Roman legion, carried by a special grade legionary known as an Aquilifer. One eagle standard was carried by each legion.-History:...

 of domination and two inscriptions. The 260 cm (102.4 in) human figure may belong to either the emperor or the governor.

Inscription

For the international peace and friendship and for the sovereignty of Emperor Germanicus;

Gaius Julıus Aquilla, who has been appointed as lifelong strategos

Strategos

Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...

 and and two times legion

Roman legion

A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...

 commander by the Emperor Augustus; and rewarded by the senate upon the suggestion of Consul Gabinius Secundus

Aulus Gabinius

Aulus Gabinius, Roman statesman and general, and supporter of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, was a prominent figure in the later days of the Roman Republic....

 and Consul Taurus Statilius

Titus Statilius Taurus

Titus Statilius Taurus was the name of a line of Roman senators. The first known and most important of these was a Roman general and two-time consul prominent during the Triumviral and Augustan periods...

penetrated the mountain and built this recreation ground by his own wealth.