EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN COAST

Mark Antony gave the lovely Cilician shores between Alanya and the Syrian Border to Cleopatra as a wedding present. Also associated with the region's past is St. Paul, a native of Tarsus. Today the area is known for its fertile soil which produces abundant crops, and for the hospitality of its residents.

Kizkalesi, Mersin

Surrounded by densely cultivated market gardens, Mersin, the provincial center of Icel, lies midway on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Its shady palm-lined avenues, city park and modern hotels create a pleasant ambience from which to visit the nearby historic sites and numerous beaches. A rapidly developing city and the largest free-trade zone port on the Turkish Mediterranean, Mersin has a regular car ferry service to Gazimagosa (Famagusta) in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. In the fish market, sample the daily catch in one of the several inexpensive restaurants. Other local delicacies include cezire, a local confection made of carrot rolled around a walnut center, and biberli ekmek, a small pizza topped with a spicy meatless sauce. Despite its very modern appearance, Mersin (ancient Zephyrium) occupies the site of an extremely ancient city. It was called Kizuwatna by the Hittites. At the Yurnuktepe tumulus, three m west of town, continuing excavations have unearthed several successive settlements dating back to 6000 B.C. to the Neolithic Age. It has also been learned from a letter from the Hittite queen, Puduhepa (1282-1275 B.C.), to the Ugarite king in Syria, Niqmepa, that the residents of Ura (Hyria) at the head of the Goksu (Calycadnos) River in Icel were engaged in sea trade with the Ugarites. There are remains of various civilizations throughout Icel, but the majority of remains are from the Roman, Byzantine, and Turkish eras.