BIKE CLASSICAL: Kelenderis: Samian Colony and Sea Port

Sunday, February 1, 2015

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.