Photos by Jack A. Waldron
The ancient city of Canytelis, or Kanytelis, known in Turkey as Kanlidivane (36°31'32.7"N 34°10'46.7"E), was part of the Olba Kingdom, which predated the Roman era. The ancient city of Olba is located about 25 kilometers northwest of Kanlidivane. Pictured above, I am standing near one of the well preserved olive presses at the site.
Unfortunately, the information board at the site had seen better days by the time I arrived. This gives some idea of how intense the sun can be in the Mediterranean. One might think that cycling in this heat would be near impossible, but actually, with 50+ sun screen and the wind, it's very comfortable to travel on two wheels.
I've also included the site map with key, which is all in Turkish, and unfortunately, the map makers' top priority seems to have been pointing out every olive oil works at the site, as opposed to identifying the numerous churches, basilicas, and other antiquities.
Instant awe is how I would describe my reaction when I first saw the massive sinkhole at the center of the ancient city. Directly opposite the southern entrance to the site (on the other side of the massive sinkhole) is a very well preserved basilica dating from the Byzantine period, though there isn't any approximate date for its construction or other information provided at the site (pictured below).
You can see in the photo below, that the south side wall of the basilica has collapsed into the sinkhole. There's no rubble remaining from this wall on the basilica grounds, so I imagine the easily accessible stone blocks were repurposed for the construction of newer buildings, or they fell into the sinkhole.
The large apse of the basilica can be seen in the right of the photo below, with the narthex situated at the left. I'm sure the huge circular canyon must have played some mythical role in the lives of those who lived here during ancient times, and I wonder if there was once an ancient Hellenistic or Roman temple on this basilica site?
Walking along the west side of the canyon, you come to a large Hellenistic tower that is partially collapsed. There is a similar Hellenistic tower dating from the 3C BCE to the 2C BCE at ancient Diocaesarea, which is located less than 5 kilometers west of Olba (the ancient city).
The biggest difference between the tower at Diocaesarea and the tower at Kanlidivane is the stone type and usage. The tower at Diocaesarea uses square blocks for the entire structure, whereas the tower at Kanlidivane used square blocks at the corners, and polygonal blocks for the construction of the walls.
Though a large section of the south wall of the tower has collapsed, there appears to be a substantial amount of material lying at the base of the tower, so hopefully the structure will be partially restored.
During the 1C CE, the Olba kingdom became part of the Roman Empire as a vassal state, which was managed by priest kings who held favor with Rome. Transitioning from the Roman Empire to the Eastern Roman Empire, and then to the Byzantine Empire, the city was renamed Neapolis under the reign of Emperor Theodosius II sometime during the early 5C CE. The pious Theodosius II, known for his religious devotion, and who would be venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, rebuilt the Neapolis/Canytelis as a religious center.
Not far from the Hellenistic tower is the church or basilica pictured above. In this photo we are looking at the exterior wall that is concealing a circular apse. The two rows of square notches along the top of the apse wall and the door opening at the top left indicate that there was probably once a balcony with awning, or some other functional architectural entity present (pictured above). Just below these rows of square notches are more notches that are spaced further apart, and may have used to support the balcony with brackets (consoles).
The two notches on either side of bottom corners of the arched windows may have also supported a wooded balcony, or perhaps flag poles. The windows are part of the half moon domed apse (pictured below), however, the wall on the exterior of the apse is flat (pictured above), which I find interesting.
Pictured below, a view looking through the entrance to the nave from narthex. Notice the Christian symbol on the frame above the entrance.
In the photo below, I am now standing outside the walls of the church looking at the narthex just the columns that support the three ached entrance to the building.
We can see that the columns are in the Corinthian style, including square outer capitals, but I am not so sure that these columns were sculpted specifically for this structure, and may have been acquired from a more ancient Roman build.
As I have shown previously, there are many examples of Christian churches being built over more ancient Pagan temples, or even converting a Pagan temple into a Christian church.
Pictured above, a full frontal view of the church, which faces west. Pictured below, we have a side view of the same church, which clearly shows the half moon apse rising from the bottom left of the photo.
Though my memory is a bit cloudy, the crumbling building shown in the two photos below are part of the same complex as the church discussed above, though it sits at the opposite end of the complex. The large space between them is the location of another building (possibly a church), that has collapsed, and which we will look at further down.
In the right side of the photo below, we can see in the far distance the church that has partially collapsed into the sinkhole. My photos almost always appear in some sort of sequence, so I am fairly sure this building was along the same path and, part of the same complex as the church discussed previously.
Now having swung completely back around to the sinkhole side of the complex, we see the apse side of the large church, and you can once again see that the half moon rounded apse is backed by a massive flat wall (left of photo below). This flat exterior apse wall is interesting for me, because on many ancient Byzantine churches the round shape of the apse protrudes through and breaks up back wall, thus putting its round shape on display.
As you can see in the photo above, there is a collapsed structure next to the church and it's roughly the same size, though its front appears to face the opposite direction, east. Though the collapsed structure may have been yet another church, they appear to be part of the greater complex, as discussed above.
Unlike the fine cut stone blocks used to build Ancient Greek and Roman temples, these buildings were built mostly of rough shaped blocks, which makes the their restoration much much more difficult.
Spinning around toward the sinkhole, and with the Hellenistic tower in view near the site entrance, we have our first of many olive oil works.
In the tilted photo above, we can see the sinkhole in the right of the photo with the remains of the partially collapsed church teetering at its edge, the olive oil works in the foreground, and in the distant top left of the photo we have yet another massive church that is in a sad state of collapse.
Continuing along the edge of the sinkhole and looking back, we can see the Hellenistic tower in the left of the photo, the large church with the apse windows and flat exterior wall, and the massive sinkhole.
Situated below the Hellenistic tower on the face of the sinkhole wall are the rock face reliefs you see in the photo above. Though I would guess these reliefs represent an elite family within the ancient community, and that these reliefs would indicate a tomb or burial of family member, I see no evidence of a tomb. So, why and for whom were these reliefs produced?
The monumental arches pictured above are located along the route to the partially collapsed church, and are a testament to the size and scale of the buildings that once stood within this ancient community.
Pictured above, a view of the whole area we have just covered as seen from the site of the massive church that sits a bit up the hill from the sinkhole. The photo below is a complete view of this structure across the sinkhole from the area near the Hellenistic tower.
The exterior walls are built of rough square blocks, which do not offer the strength of finely honed large square stone blocks, such as those we see in the circular shaped apse in the left of the photo.
This apse too has a flat exterior wall that contains two arched windows. Notice the more ornate sculpture of this Corinthian capital, which leads me to think this may be an early Byzantine period construction. It's also possible that the outer walls are of a later construction than the interior, an expansion perhaps?
When comparing the construction of the apse with that of the outer walls (including the arched windows), I see a chasm between the two. I am inclined to see a Late-Roman temple or basilica, reconfigured into a Byzantine era church, with outer walls built completely during the later period.
Regardless, these structures are massive, and I hope they will receive the attention and preservation they deserve. This site is obviously huge in scale and importance to many different periods of habitation.
Pictured below, we have now arrived at said church, which is actually in a fair state of preservation, though we can see that it is in dire need of attention.
I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I love the Neo-Corinthian Byzantine style acanthus leaf capitals pictured below.
These capitals share none of the natural aesthetics offered by Roman or Greek period Corinthian capitals, but these do offer a kind of simplistic digital take on a much appreciated and reproduced classical style. I think Antoni Goudi would have appreciated this artistic rendering.
Stepping into the nave from the narthex, we see a fairly well preserved two-story double arched left aisle in the left of the photo above. In the center right of the photo we see the apse with two arched windows. In the right of the photo, a few columns remain of the right aisle, with the rest having collapsed into the sinkhole.
In the hills above the sinkhole site we can find a necropolis with some temple tombs or mausoleums. Pictured above, we can see one of the most well preserved temple tombs, and this is where we will head next. Pictured below, a well preserved ancient structure along the route to the hillside necropolis.
The sign below marks the area of the hillside necropolis, though it's more directed toward one specific well preserved mausoleum.
Known as the Ucayak Mezar Aniti, or the 'Tripod Tomb Monument', little is known about the interred, but one thing for sure, this was built for a rich family of some importance within the community 9pictured below).
Monumental temple tombs or mausoleums are not the only graves to be found within the hillside necropolis. Pictured below, one of the many sarcophagi to be found throughout a large area.
There's a game of 'hide and go seek' being played out here, because too many of the sarcophagi throughout the area are hidden under or behind the cover of overgrowth.
Many of the more poorly constructed mausoleums have collapsed, leaving the area covered with rough shaped blocks.
All of the tombs and sarcophagi have been molested over the centuries, their lids dislodged, their walls broken through, and their valuables stolen.
One of the more impressive tombs within the hillside necropolis is the Aba Temple Tomb (pictured below). According to inscriptions on the structure, this tomb built in the Roman temple style was constructed during 2C CE.
The inscription which is located above the entrance states that Queen Aba had the tomb constructed for her husband Arios and her sons, it reads:
"Built by Teukros, the son of priest Tarkyaris of Olba for Zeus."
Unfortunately, I failed to get a photograph of the inscription.
Sitting on a low podium, the tomb measures approximately 7 meters wide by 8.6 meters deep, and about 7.7 meters in height.
The entrance is covered by a large vaulted arched, and has square Corinthian capitals at its corners.
There are also square Corinthian capitals at the back corners of the structure.
This tomb is very well preserved, and highlights the diversity of the antiquities at the site, which range from the Hellenistic period (maybe even earlier?), all the way through to the Byzantine period, and later.
Pictured below, a view from inside the Aba Tomb looking out at the ancient city, and beyond to the distant blue Mediterranean Sea.
The corner section of architrave pictured below most likely belonged to a building from the Late-Roman period, or the Early-Byzantine period. It's very finely sculpted, and retains some of the beautiful Roman and Greek classical style.
Another nearby necropolis called the Canakci Necropolis is located approximately 500 meters southwest of the hillside necropolis, though I do not know the name of this site (36°31'27.0"N 34°10'27.8"E).
The unique aspect of this necropolis is the large rocky hill that is home to numerous rock face reliefs, tombs and even sarcophagi that have been carved into the rock.
This necropolis may be situated along an ancient road that ran west to the ancient site known today as Kabacam (36°30'55.4"N 34°09'09.3"E), which is located about 3 kilometers west of ancient Canytelis (Kanytelis). In photo below, we can see one of the many tombs carved into the rock face with an inscription located above the entrance.
The well cut tomb opening shows that it was once sealed with a stone door or block (pictured above). The entrance is flanked by two roughly sculpted columns that may have been weathered over the millennia.
Pictured above is a view inside the tomb, and we can see that there are two beds for the interred carved into the tomb walls.
Pictured above, we see a fairly fine relief of a woman, probably dating from the Late-Roman period, and to her left we can see a Roman temple relief with an inscription within.
Pictured here, a close-up of the same relief. I included both photos, because I couldn't decide which shows the most detail.
Pictured below, another of the numerous rock face tombs with an inscription above its entrance. Notice also the reliefs in the rock face above and to the left of the tomb.
Pictured below, these are the reliefs above the tomb discussed above. I had to use some light adjustment to get these photos as the sun was creating some distortion.
I would date these reliefs to the Late-Roman or Early-Byzantine period. The quality of the reliefs is certainly amateurish, with outsized body parts and a lack of sculptural elegance.
The faces of the figures appear to have been disfigured, which may be the result of religious attacks. This is a common occurrence during present times when antiquities are unprotected, but these mutilations may have taken place during more ancient times.
Pictured below, this central figure appears to be holding a Roman hasta spear with his right hand, and a small arm shield on his left arm.
Again, I would date these military implements to the Late-Roman or Early-Byzantine period.
Interestingly, the female figure pictured below has not been disfigured, which might indicate that the mutilation of the male figures was performed by a military rival, perhaps during the Arab raids?
The bright pink wildflowers standout in the following photos. This group was probably related, a prestigious and honorable family within the community.
I would have liked to climb up the rock face to get closer photos, but there is always the chance of falling, and ending a cycling season, or ending up in a tomb just like these.
Pictured below, a relief of a couple above a tomb that was most likely theirs. Here we have what appears to be a woman or wife lying on a sofa, and a man or husband in military dress standing next to her.
The male figure is holding a Roman hasta spear in his right hand, and appears to have a shield or quiver tucked under his left arm.
The female figure is sculpted in a style that often adorns the lids of sarcophagi, and both husband and wife normally appear together on these lids.
You can also see the rough attempt to add columns at either side of the entrance.
The rock face tomb pictured below is of a repeating style, with a group of figures sculpted in relief above the entrance.
Here however, we have two levels of reliefs, those you see standing within a rectangular box on the first level, and then two more figures situated above them to the left (pictured above).
Though the details of these reliefs are a bit more difficult to discern with the sunlight, it appears to me that we have a female adult standing next to a child (probably a girl, or daughter) within the bottom level, and an adult male (possibly seated) next to a young standing boy.
I might argue, that this is a family group with the patriarch and son on the top level, and below them is the matriarch with daughter. Pictured below, within the tomb we can see what appears to be a narrow sarcophagus box that has been honed into the floor of the chamber.
All rock face tombs are not created equally, and here pictured below we have an extremely rough relief of a bust with some interesting patterns off the right side, and a lowly ground level entrance sealed with a roughly sculpted stone block.
There are also several freestanding sarcophagi located within this necropolis, with the one pictured below being the most prominent.
At this site we can see some very interesting museum pieces, such as the inscripted cylinder pictured below, that I believe is a sacrificial altar, which if true might make this a pagan burial site. That said, some early Christians were known to have carried on the tradition of making animal sacrifices to their god.
Leaving the western necropolis, I headed back toward the central part of the ancient city. Along the way it's possible to see many ancient dwellings, some in their near original form, and others that have been constructed out of various odds and ends.
There are so many building of various types within the site, that it is impossible to investigate all of them in one day.
One of the most interesting buildings is the one pictured below, which may very well be the best preserved Late-Roman, or Early-Byzantine buildings I have ever seen! With a bit of restoration, this structure could be used today.
But, here is the most fascinating thing about this building (at least for me), and that is melding of different period structures into one. Pictured below is the same building as viewed from the back side, and we can see the massive finely honed square blocks that would have been appropriate for a Greek or Early-Middle period Roman structure. The front of the building has been expanded upon (possibly due to earlier quarrying of its large blocks) with small square roughly honed blocks dating for a later period, probably Byzantine. What was the function of the original structure?
Continuing on toward the city center, another of the numerous olive oil production facilities (pictured below), though I am curious if some of these works were actually used for wine production?
Pictured below, we have another olive oil press, and this site appears to have undergone some restoration.
Laying randomly near the olive press site (pictured below), my guess is that we are looking at a Roman period sacrificial altar that has been converted into a mill shaft, similar to the tall shaft pictured above with the grinding wheel attached.
Honestly, if there was one antiquities site in Turkey that could be turned into and 'Ancient Times' theme park with artisans at work and tourist amenities that would help us understand the lives of the ancients, this would be the site.
Reimagined, I wonder if the dual arches pictured above might await an ancient glassblowing center, that would produce ancient Roman glass for sale to tourists near and far.
This ancient site could be re-imagined as an educational center, something like Greenfield village in Dearborn, Michigan.
There is a way to make such a site a living city, productive in the ancient arts, creative in an educational sense, a tourist destination, a living archeological park. Pictured below, we have a most fascinating entrance to another world, a world of eternity, where the Christian god is infinitely present. This is what the circular oculi symbols on the door frame wish to communicate.
The Circular oculi or motif represents the celestial bodies of the heavens, the spiritual world, the illumination of the divine realm, where god is present. Passing through this entrance means to symbolically move from the unsanctified earthly realm to the divine sacred realm, which is a viewed as a spiritual journey.
In the photo below, we are probably looking at an antiquity from the Roman period, or at least the stone blocks themselves originate from this time.
Perhaps these members have been repurposed to serve a function different from their original function, but I see the building blocks of a fountain, or a Roman temple with the podium and front steps intact.
Pictured below is a large cistern that has probably been used and reconstructed many times throughout the millennia.
The roof of the cistern stands out to me, because it appears to be made of a type of concrete, which indicates its transformation and use up until modern times.
The well type stone pictured above is also quite interesting, as this block may be part of an earlier configuration of this cistern, but has been re-employed to continue its service. Looking down into the cistern in the photo below, we can see some of the columns that support the roof, and that water is still present.
Arriving back in the main part of the ancient city, we find well organized roads or paths between the building, and numerous door frames that allow entrance into now collapsed structures.
As I stated before, this ancient city saw continuous occupation for well over two thousand years, and fell under the authority of numerous different cultures, which saw its ancient buildings erected, reworked, reconfigured, destroyed and rebuilt again and again so many times, that this site is like a chameleon with all of its colors meshed together with all on display at the same time.
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