Olba Antik Kenti

Olba Antik Kenti

Overview:

The ruins of the ancient city of Olba are located in Örenköy region, in Silifke town, in Mersin Province south Turkey.

This region considers an important religious and commercial center.

Historical overview:

The monuments of the region were firstly discovered in 1930 by the two German archeologist J. Keil and A. Wilhelm, the excavation works have been carried out since 2001 in the ancient city of Olba, district by a team from the Gazi University headed by Professor Emel Erten.

All the discovered ruins till now indicates that there were civilizations in the region as Hellenistic, Roman and Christians ages.

The ruins of the walls refers that it was a strong fortress in the Hellenistic era but in the Roman era, the walls was hugest to defend the city.

The writing on the watercourse which brought water to the city from Lamos River indicate that it dated back to the roman era between 198-211 A.D.  

The excavation works indicate that there are ruins of a huge roman theatre and ruins of different graves.

In 4th century, the Christianity used to be the State religion of the Roman Empire, it became an important religious center and churches were built.

The most important monuments that you can visit in Olba: Aqueduct watercourse, Nymphaeum Fountain and the ruins of the theatre, graves and cathedral.

You can also watch the wonderful mosaic painting that consists of three angels and was discovered in 1800. 16 mosaic painting was transferred to the Silfike Museum.

Resources:

Tripadvisor website

Turkpress website

Official website

https://yoldaolmak.com/olba-antik-kenti-silifke.html

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