Anamur, ancient Anemurium in Cilicia

Anemurium, modern Anamur is situated on a promontory along the ancient coastal road of Rough Cilicia (Cilicia Tracheia) in southern Turkey. The city was founded by the Phoenicians and successively occupied by the Assyrians, the Hittites and again by the Phoenicians till Alexander the Great conquered Cilicia in 333 BC. After his death, it was ruled by the Seleucids followed by the Romans as we know that Marc Anthony generously gave Cilicia to Cleopatra.

Anemurium was a thriving city in Roman times and its impressive remains date from circa 100 BC to 600 AD occupying a 1500 meters wide bay and the entire width of about 400 meters between the beach and the mountain slope. The city walls are pretty well preserved together with two theaters and several – obviously Roman – bathhouses and aqueducts. The steep mountain slope in turn is riddled with hundreds of tombs of which a few still contain their original funerary paintings and mosaics.

The largest of the theaters still counts 26 rows, totaling 2700 seats and faces the sea. Nearby is a small Odeon and a large three-aisled basilica. The most impressive bathhouse has two storys with a vaulted roof and stands close to the mountain and connecting aqueduct. It is easy to recognize the appropriate role of the each room with a caldarium (the hot bath), a tepidarium (the warm bath) and the frigidarium (cold bath), beside the changing room and an extra hall with a pool. The guests were welcomed to these Thermae with an inscription above the gate saying “Welcome to the baths. Have a good bath”.

Most striking are the remains of Mamure Castle situated some seven kilometers east of modern Anamur. This castle dates from medieval times but is resting on Roman foundations from the 3^rd-4^th century AD. It has been enlarged and modified by the Byzantines and the Crusaders and finally by the Seljuks in 1221 - this is what we can see today.

This Mamure Kale is a quite impressive construction surrounded by a moat. It is built around several courtyards, one of which holds a mosque with a minaret from the early 1300s and all courtyards together are enhanced with thirty-nine towers. The high ramparts offer a sweeping view over the Mediterranean as well as the hinterland – a strategic point, of course.