Aytap (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

: , ''Iotape'') is a historical port city that is 30 km-33 km, east of

Alanya Alanya (; ), formerly Alaiye, is a beach resort city and a district of Antalya Province on the southern coast of Turkey, in the country's Mediterranean Region, east of the city of Antalya. As of Turkey's 2010 census, the city had a population of ...

, located in the

Mediterranean Region, Turkey The Mediterranean Region ( tr, Akdeniz Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Antalya. Other big cities are Adana, Mersin, Hatay and Kahramanmaraş. It is bordered by the Aegean Region to the west, the ...

. Along with Alanya, Aytap is situated in the district of the

Antalya Province Antalya Province ( tr, ) is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visit ...

. Where Aytap is situated there is a long modern road that stretches along the coast between Alanya and

Gazipaşa Gazipaşa () is a town and district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey, 180 km east of the city of Antalya. Gazipaşa is a quiet rural district famous for its bananas, oranges and international airport of Gazi ...

. Aytap is situated between Alanya and Gazipaşa. Nowadays, Aytap is a popular tourist place. The city is popular for camping; swimming in the natural caves; swimming and using the local beaches or if tourists come to visit the ancient ruins.

History

Prior to the 1st century, there is no archaeological evidence found that Aytap could have been earlier inhabited by other clans of people. The city was founded by the King

Antiochus IV of Commagene Gaius Julius Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( grc, Γάιος Ἰούλιος Ἀντίοχος ὀ Ἐπιφανής, before 17 AD – after 72 AD), the last king of Commagene, reigned between 38 and 72 as a client king to the Roman Empire. The epit ...

, who was of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...

descent. Antiochus IV founded this settlement around 52 and named the city in honor of his late sister-wife, Queen of Commagene Iotapa, who was Queen from 38 until her death around 52 of Commagene. Antiochus IV chose this site to establish the city, because there are 2 bays close to each other, giving shape of a natural harbor with a higher plateau for the town to be protected from the sea and any invasions from the sea. The natural port measures 50–100 metres. The peninsula between the 2 bays is on a high hill, which is connected to land and extends to the sea. In the peninsula, ruins remains of an Acropolis. Huge walls were built around the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

to protect the monument. It is known during the reign of Antiochus IV, 38–72, in some cities in

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 ...

, including Iotapa, mints were producing coins honoring Antiochus’ sons with Iotapa, princes

Gaius Julius Archelaus Antiochus Epiphanes Gaius Julius Archelaus Antiochus Epiphanes, also known as Julius Archelaus Epiphanes; Epiphanes; Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes or simply known as Gaius (Greek: Γάιος Ἰούλιος Ἀρχέλαος Ἀντίοχος Ἐπιφανής, 38 ...

and

Callinicus Callinicus or Kallinikos ( el, Καλλίνικος) is a surname or male given name; the feminine form is Kalliniki, Callinice or Callinica ( el, Καλλινίκη). It is of Greek origin, meaning "beautiful victor". People named Callinicus Seleu ...

. These mints were producing coins honoring Iotapa, years after her death. Although Iotapa was annexed along with the Kingdom of Commagene by Roman Emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

in 72, Iotapa became a central city where coins were minted. From the reign of

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

(98-117) until the reign of Valerian (253-260), coins were minted at Iotapa. Surviving coins from the mint, on the front side shows the bust of an emperor and backside there is a description of either

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

Tyche Tyche (; Ancient Greek: Τύχη ''Túkhē'', 'Luck', , ; Roman equivalent: Fortuna) was the presiding tutelary deity who governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. In Classical Greek mythology, she is the daughter of Aphrodite a ...

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus ...

Archaeological remains

In Aytap, there are archaeological remains from the reign of Antiochus IV,

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

and

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. The ancient ruins are near the modern road. In Aytap, there are remains of the Ancient Roman sewers, which are well preserved. In the northern hills of Aytap, there is a necropolis (see

List of necropoleis This is a list of necropoleis sorted by country. Although the name is sometimes also used for some modern cemeteries, this list includes only ancient necropoleis, generally founded no later than approximately 1500 AD. Because almost every cit ...

). There are monumental tombs and beside them are small tomb structures covered with vaults. In the old street of Aytap there are well preserve remains of the local Roman Baths. There are crepes consisting of three steps and surviving sculptures. Inscriptions on sculptures have survived about local athletes and local citizens. East of the local Acropolis, there is a

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

in a rectangular shape with three naves. Ruins of a temple have been found in the modern city centre that is 8 m x 12.5 m long, with traces of surviving frescoes.

Sources

*https://web.archive.org/web/20150812083730/http://cheaphotelturkey.com/alanyaturkey.asp *http://www.famous-tour.com/english/LOCATIONS/alanya.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20080924090628/http://www.bilyanatravel.com/?page=106&destina=4&lang=uk *https://web.archive.org/web/20090106015143/http://www.turkeytourism.com/holiday/akdeniz/alanya/resorts.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20080829184156/http://www.turkeyodyssey.com/articles/the-port-city-of-iotape-aytap.html *http://www.turizm.gov.tr/EN/Yonlendir.aspx?17A16AE30572D3137EE1F1486EE5030E9BCFDA0A07D3F364

External links

Photo of Ancient Roman Theatre in Aytap
{{coord, 36, 19, 14, N, 32, 14, 06, E, region:TR-70_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Cities in Turkey