Anemurium

Anemurium occupies the slope of the cape that is the southernmost point of the Anatolian mainland - Cyprus is about sixty-five kilometres offshore and visible on a clear day. The city was Hellenistic in origin and flourished under Rome and into the early Byzantine period before being abandoned after the seventh century, and because nothing was built over it the remains stand to unusual height: bath complexes with vaulted ceilings and traces of mosaic and wall painting, an odeon, a theatre, an aqueduct running along the hillside, churches and a palaestra. The most striking part is the necropolis, hundreds of tombs built as small barrel-vaulted houses in rows along the approach, many still roofed, some with painted plaster inside - you walk a street of them to reach the city. The site runs down to a pebble beach where swimming is possible. It is remote, hot and very quiet.

Highlights

• The tomb streets - rows of vaulted house-tombs, many intact.
• The bath complexes - vaults with mosaic and painting traces.
• The odeon and theatre - the city's public buildings.
• The cape - the southernmost point, with Cyprus offshore.

When to go

April to June and September to November, in the morning. There is no shade and the cape is punishing in summer.

Good to know

Structures are unconsolidated in places and interiors can be unsafe. There are no facilities beyond a ticket hut. A car is needed, and Anamur itself is a long drive from any major city.

Nearby

Mamure Castle is on the other side of Anamur; the long coast road runs east toward Silifke.

Key facts