Arsinoe ( grc, Ἀρσινόη) was a city on the coast of

ancient Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

between

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, ...

and Kelenderis; the site is near the modern city of

Bozyazı Bozyazı is a town and district of Mersin Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, west of the city of Mersin. Geography Bozyazı is a remote coastal district with the Taurus Mountains as a backdrop; The roads over the mountains or along t ...

Mersin Province Mersin Province ( tr, ), formerly İçel Province ( tr, ), is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is Mersin, which is composed of f ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. Strabo mentions Arsinoe as having a port. In the 19th century,

William Martin Leake William Martin Leake (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English military man, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British military, spending much of his career in the Mediterrane ...

placed it at or near the ruined modern castle, called Softa Kalesi (Sokhta Kálesi), just west of Bozyazı, below which is a port, such as Strabo describes at Arsinoe, and a peninsula on the east side of the harbor covered with ruins. This modern site is east of Anemurium, and west of, and near to, Kızil Burnu (Cape Kizliman). The city was founded by

Ptolemy Philadelphus ; egy, Userkanaenre Meryamun Clayton (2006) p. 208 , predecessor = Ptolemy I , successor = Ptolemy III , horus = ''ḥwnw-ḳni'Khunuqeni''The brave youth , nebty = ''wr-pḥtj'Urpekhti''Great of strength , gol ...

and named for Arsinoe II of Egypt, his sister and wife. The site of Arsinoe is located near modern an archaeological site named Maraş Harabeleri about east of Bozyazı in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

References

Populated coastal places in Turkey Ruins in Turkey Ptolemaic colonies Populated places in ancient Cilicia Former populated places in Cilicia History of Mersin Province {{Mersin-geo-stub