Anamur is a town and district in
Mersin Province,
Turkey, the westernmost district of that province, bordering on
Antalya Province
Antalya Province ( tr, ) is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea.
Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visit ...
. Anamur contains
Anatolia's southernmost point, It is a coastal resort known for its
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
s and
peanuts.
Etymology
Anamur has mutated from the
Ancient Greek "Anemourion" (),
Latinized as "Anemurium", meaning "
windmill
A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some p ...
".
ἀνεμούριον
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus project
History
Founded by the Phoenicians, Anemurium
Anemurium ( grc, Ἀνεμούριον, Anemourion), also called Animurium, is an ancient city whose ruins, now called ''Eski Anamur'' or ''Anemuryum'', are close to the modern Turkish city of ''Anamur''. It was in the Roman province of Cilicia, ...
was then occupied by the Assyrians and Hittites. During the Hittite period in the twelfth century BC, the ruler Tuthalia IV, granted Anemurium to Mattuvata who had taken refuge in his kingdom. Mattuvata took advantage of the Hittites’ weakness, establishing his own kingdom with Anemurium as its capital. His rule extended as far as Afyon
Afyonkarahisar (, tr, afyon "poppy, opium", ''kara'' "black", ''hisar'' "fortress") is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyon Province. Afyon is in the mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean coast, south-west of Ankara along t ...
, in central Anatolia. At the end of the twelfth century the area was occupied by a nomadic tribe that had come from across the Caucasus mountains. The tribe was called by the ancient Greeks the "Wind people" (Ἀνέμου γένος) after whom the city was named. The exact reasons behind this name are lost in time. The most probable explanation however, is that they worshiped a god of wind, perhaps similar to the Greek Aeolus
In Greek mythology, Aeolus or Aiolos (; grc, Αἴολος , ) is a name shared by three mythical characters. These three personages are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which A ...
, as their main deity. Then the city came under the control of the Phoenicians again, and later Persians. In 333 BC Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
brought this coast within his Macedonian Empire, and he was succeeded by Seleucids and then Ancient Romans
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–5 ...
. The coast was given by Mark Anthony to Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. ...
as a wedding present and Roman coins have been discovered in the course of excavation, dating to the years between Emperors Titus (AD 79–81) and Valevianus (AD 253–259).
The Romans were succeeded by the Byzantines.
The city was first occupied by an Islamic Army in the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...
.
In XI - XIII centuries it was a part of Cilician Kingdom
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...
.
Turkish people reached the city in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. In the thirteenth century, the Karamanids, a clan in Central Anatolia, expanded their borders towards the city, building the Alaköprü bridge (which can still be seen on the road to Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...
) and conquering the city in 1290 from Cilicia Armenians. It was also ruled by Sultanate of Rum between 1075 and 1099 and again between 1228 and 1246.
Climate
Anamur has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
( Köppen climate classification ''Csa'') with long, hot and dry summers and cool and rainy winters.
Anamur today
The local economy depends on agriculture, especially bananas and strawberries. The summers are hot and this is the only part of Turkey that can sustain the growing of bananas. Greenhouses for growing bananas are found everywhere; other tropical fruits such as papaya, pineapple and avocado are grown here now too. Anamur produces 40% of Turkey's strawberries. A traditional local specialty is taro (known locally as '' gölevez'').
Although there are places of historical interest, long beaches and a clean sea, there is no large scale tourism on this part of the coast, as the coast road in both directions is winding and really slow to drive. But there are major road works now into the direction of Mersin and Antalya. Many kilometers have four lanes now. It takes 5 hours to get here by bus from either Mersin or Antalya
Antalya () is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast outside the A ...
. Gazipasa Airport (near Alanya) has opened mid-2011. Direct charter flights from Amsterdam (Netherlands) take place twice a week. In 2012 also German airliners will fly to this airport. Other airports are in Antalya or in Adana. Although some people from central Anatolia as well as foreigners from Europe (Germans/Austrians/Dutch) have holiday homes here, Anamur itself is a quiet, isolated town with no night life, and in winter is very quiet indeed. Anamur Iskele is the beach resort of this area. A lot of holiday flats and villa's are situated near the beach or more inland. Plenty of small and some bigger hotels offer good quality as well as the restaurants near the small boulevard. The beaches are important nesting grounds for the sea turtle caretta caretta
The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of sea turtle, oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the Family (biology), family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around ...
and the rocky areas of coastline are inhabited by the Mediterranean monk seal
The Mediterranean monk seal (''Monachus monachus'') is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. , it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the Ae ...
. The military have a base here, on the coast. The island of Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
is a way offshore and there are no sea crossings to Kyrenia
Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus.
While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...
/ Girne anymore. The Taşucu Ferryboat companies blocked it. Now Taşucu, 2 hours east from Anamur by car, is the closest ferry terminal offering ferry service to Cyprus. The silhouette of the island of Cyprus is visible if there is no sea fog. It is just 40 miles away from Anamur.
Sites to visit
* Mamure Castle, the medieval castle, well-preserved, about south east of Anamur. Originally built by the Romans in the third or fourth century AD, it was enlarged by the Byzantine Empire and the Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
. After the Seljuk Turk
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
ish Sultan `Ala' ad-Din Kay-Qubad captured the castle in 1221, he had it rebuilt in its present form. It consists of three courtyards with 39 towers, surrounded by a moat. In one courtyard there is an ancient mosque with a minaret – built by Mahmud Bey of Karaman
Karaman, historically known as Laranda ( Greek: Λάρανδα), is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the capital district of the Karaman Province. Accordin ...
in 1300-1308 – which is still open for prayer. There are the ruins of a bathhouse on the opposite side. The castle is in two sections with two lines of ramparts between them, a walkway along the ramparts links the two sides.
* Anemurium
Anemurium ( grc, Ἀνεμούριον, Anemourion), also called Animurium, is an ancient city whose ruins, now called ''Eski Anamur'' or ''Anemuryum'', are close to the modern Turkish city of ''Anamur''. It was in the Roman province of Cilicia, ...
, the remains of the ancient city, built between BC and AD 600 southwest of Anamur, on the coast. The stone walls of the city are still partly intact and there are many mosaics. The small theatre or odeion is still largely intact across from the more poorly preserved large theatre and there are several bath buildings. Enough left of the city's two-storey Roman bathhouse to give a good impression of what it was in its heyday, with changing rooms, a hot section, a warm section, and a hall with a pool. On the entrance gate a sign written Latin says “Welcome to the baths, have a good bath.” The city had an elaborate water supply system, as illustrated by the remains of the aqueducts. There is also an acropolis containing the ruins of a palace, which had its own private water supply. Around the city walls there are many Roman built tombs, which even have small entrance halls for visitors. The site has been excavated by Canadian teams from the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia.
* Many caves including Çukurpınar, one of the longest in the world, (1420 m) and Köşekbükü (the air is said to be treatment for asthma or malaria).
International relations
* Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
The settlement's original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant "hole in the rock", a description of the shoal behind the ''Mäuseturm'', k ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
* Girne, Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a '' de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Rec ...
* Mingachevir, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
See also
* Çarıklar
* Ören
*Bozdoğan
Bozdoğan is a small historic town and district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of Turkey, from the city of Aydın.
Bozdoğan is high on the side of Mount Madran, the source of the highly valued Pınar Madran mineral water, which is b ...
* Gercebahşiş
* Karalarbahşiş
* Köprübaşı
* Malaklar
* Northern Cyprus Water Supply Project
References
External links
District governor's official website
District municipality's official website
About Mersin City and Anamur
Anamur
Mersin University
Anamurluca, Anamur culture pages
Anamur
Pictures of Anamur including its castle and Anemurion
Geography of Turkey
Populated places in Mersin Province
Populated coastal places in Turkey
{{Coord missing, Turkey