Silifke
Göksu River
Like most places in Turkey, Silifke,
the small province town and capital of the like-named province, has also
ancient roots. It was founded in the 3rd century BC by Seleucus I Nicator,
one of the generals of Alexander the Great and called after him Seleucia
ad Calycadnum. Calycadnum was at that time the name of the Göksu
river that runs through the city. The most prominent ruin in Silifke is
that of the Temple of Jupiter or Zeus which dates from the 2nd or 3rd
century AD. The presence of storks on the single remaining column is the
reason why locals call it also the Temple of Storks.
Silifke is about half an hour by dolmus
from Kızkalesi. As we visited Silifke
itself only between buses, we didn't have time to pay a visit to the
hilltop castle that dominates the town.
On the way between Kızkalesi and Silifke, above the village of Narlıkuyu are
the chasms of Heaven and Hell (Cennet ve Cehennem Çökükleri) of which Cennet (Heaven) is the most
impressive. To reach the cave inside the chasm itself, you need to
descend the 452 hefty steps. About 300 m to the west of Heaven is the Wishing
and Asthma Cave (Astım - Dilek Mağarası).
Click on the thumbnails to get a greater picture
