Arsinoe / Maraş Tepesi

The ancient geographer Strabo, while conveying information about this place, says: “After Anemurium one comes first to Nagidos, the first city, then to Arsinoe, which has an anchorage.” We again learn about the foundation of the city and its relations with the neighboring city of Nagidos from the inscription exhibited in the Mersin Museum. From this inscription, it is understood that the city was first founded around 270 B.C. in the time of Aetos of Aspendos. This city, which Aetos founded in the name of the wife and also sister of the Egyptian king Ptolemais II, was referred to as the “Sacred City” of the king, his wife, and his sister. Many cities founded on the Mediterranean coasts were given the name Arsinoe. Among the four known ancient cities of Arsinoe, the city of Arsinoe in Bozyazı was built in the name of Arsinoe II. The inscription mentions that the border dispute that arose between them and the neighboring city of Nagidos was resolved, and that the inscription, prepared in two copies, was placed in the Temple of Aphrodite in Nagidos and in an enclosed sacred area in Arsinoe.

Around Arsinoe, which had east-west harbors, there are fortress walls conforming to the slope of the land. Of these, the western walls reinforced with towers are in quite solid condition. Within the ancient city, the remains of many structures have been completely destroyed. Tomb structures resembling the tomb buildings we see in Anemurium, two-story and vaulted, some with upper coverings decorated with mosaics, also attract attention here. Three churches belonging to the Early Byzantine Period, of which only foundation traces remain, have been identified. The church located in the northeast of the ruins and the basilica to its east, built of cut stone and rubble stone, have survived to the present day while preserving their plan features. There are houses from the Roman-Early Byzantine Period lined up side by side. However, among these there are no structures that we can clearly call a Roman House. Arsinoe became a bishopric at the beginning of the 6th century. It was abandoned in the Early Middle Ages and was not settled again.

Source: Mersin Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism archive

Places to Visit in Mersin Address: Çubukkoyağı Mahallesi Bozyazı / Mersin