Anamurium: City of the Winds

Photos by Jack A. Waldron

Mamure Castle (pictured above) was built in medieval times, however, it sits on top of the foundations and incorporates the building materials of previous fortresses that date back to the 3rd century AD. I was cycling toward the castle, and turned my bike around for this photo. I had had a long tough mountainous ride that day and was searching for a campground, which I found next to the castle. There, I was confronted by an unfriendly owner who asked me if I spoke German, to which I answered "No, sorry". He then told me my bike counted as a vehicle, and the charge to stay would be 20 Euros. I just got back on my bike and rode away.

Anamur gets its name from the Greek word for 'wind', and it was the southern most city in Anatolia.  

The necropolis is extensive, and the landscape between the upper and lower aqueducts is covered with ancient tombs (pictured above and below).

Though Anamurium is mentioned in ancient texts as far back as the 4C BC, the ruins on the site today date back to the late Roman, Byzantine and medieval periods. The rough limestone rubble from which the buildings of were constructed, was once covered with marble or stucco. The Odeum (pictured above and below) is a good state of preservation.

The bath complex (pictured above and below) dates back to the 3C AD. As one climbs the staircase between the bath and the palaestra, which is the training area for wrestlers and boxers (pictured below), the bustle of the city seems not so far past. The entrance to the bath has an inscription that reads, "Have a good bath", while the exit reads,"You have had a good bath".

In one of the rooms of the bath, this modern graffiti was painted on a stone in the middle of the room, and the myths of some ancients is kept alive.

Byzantine and medieval period church buildings stand the test of weather and time (pictured below).  

The city walls climb the hills surrounding the city.  On a clear day, one can see Cyprus from the citadel.

Anamurium attracted many settlers as it was near to Cyprus, contained a large fertile plain to the east, was guarded from the southwesterly winds, and lay on a beautiful part of the coast. From ancient Anamurium, I would spend the next two hours cycling up, up and up the mountains that block the road to the west, and then brake down into the flat plains that lead to ancient Selinus.

*All photos and content property of Jack A. Waldron (photos may not be used without written permission)

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Kelenderis: Samian Colony and Sea Port

Photos by Jack A. Waldron

The 30 km stretch of road leading into Aydincik presented one of the steepest climbs I've faced since beginning my Bike Classical journey.  Up, and up and up and up, at a 15 degree incline, with big trucks rumbling past, . . . , a steady climb for a couple of hours in 35 degree heat . . . beautiful!!  

The reward, coasting 3 km down hill into Aydincik (ancient Kelenderis).  Of course, my first stop was a small beer shop along the main road, which could only be described as, heaven on earth!  And to the ancient mariners, the harbor city of Kelenderis must have presented a similar feeling, as protected refuge along the Cilician coast is quite hard to find.

As you can see in the satellite photo above, the ancient harbor is still in use today, though unfortunately, it's too shallow for LABRYS (Sail Classical sailboat) to enter.  The ancient city center is in the bottom left of the photo (notice the half circle, that's the Odeon), while the Roman Dortayak Cenotaph is in the upper right.

Ancient Kelenderis was founded in the 8C BC by Samian colonists, became a member of the Delian League, and was an important weigh station on route to and from Egypt.  Today, most of the ancient city has been built over by modern Aydincik, so this was one of the quickest explorations I've experienced.

Pictured above, archeologists were actively excavating the Odeon, which is the reason I was refused entry, so I snapped what photos I could from the fence line.  The much larger theater (out of picture), is just off to the right, located up hill off the main road, but has unfortunately been built over with a mosque.

The large Roman Dortayak Cenotaph with four Corinthian columns (pictured below) dates from the 2C CE, and was marked on the map of 'Chelindreh' harbor, that was prepared by Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort.  A cenotaph is "a monument erected as a memorial to a dead person or dead people buried elsewhere, especially people killed fighting a war".

The Dortayak Cenotaph is made of well-cut limestone with a rectangular burial room in the lower section.  Four pylons or square columns rise from the base, and support a pyramidal roof.  Such monuments can be found throughout the Eastern Roman Empire, such as those in Hisar, Elif (ancient Sugga) and Hasanoglu.

The sarcophagus fragments pictured above were found in ancient Kelenderis (Aydincik), and are now on display at the Silifke Archeological Museum.  The style is of a husband and wife reclining on a bed, but most interesting is that the faces were left unfinished.  Why?

The relief around the lid is quite extensive, though it displays a more rustic or provincial depth, both in topic and quality.  That said, the effort is certainly artistic and worthy of a well to do citizen.  The scenes depicted in the reliefs are of game hunts, and the use of hounds or dogs in those hunts.  Pictured above, a gazelle flees.

In the photo above, what looks like a mountain goat is being chased by a pack of dogs.  Pictured below, a boar is surrounded, confronted and bitten.

In the relief below, a stand-off puts a stag deer on its hind legs as the pack positions to trap the animal.

It turns out, that I really needed a rest following my coastal climb the previous day, because my next destination turned out to be even more challenging.  The road to ancient Anamurium and the days following would not let up.  These are the Taurus mountains.

*All photos and content property of Jack A. Waldron (photos may not be used without written permission)

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