Dikilitaş is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of

Akdeniz Akdeniz is a municipality and district governorate in Greater Mersin, Turkey. Mersin is one of the 30 Metropolitan centers in Turkey with more than one municipality within city borders. Now in Mersin there are four second-level municipalities ...

, Mersin Province,

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

. Its population is 1,069 (2022). It takes its name from an ancient

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

n monument.

Geography

Both the settlement and the monument are in Mersin municipality area. But the monument is secluded in the citrus gardens at about . The road from the city center to the monument is about . The settlement is situated slightly to the north of the monument.

History

In Turkish ''Dikilitaş'' means

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

. Dikilitaş in Mersin was a triumph monument erected by the

n king Sennacherib after his victory against

Dorians The Dorians (; el, Δωριεῖς, ''Dōrieîs'', singular , ''Dōrieús'') were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans, and Ionians) ...

in 696 BC. When erected, the monument was on the ancient road to Tarsus and probably located in the urban fabric of the ancient city of

Anchiale Anchiale ( grc, Ἀγχιάλη) or Anchialeia was a historic city of ancient Cilicia now a part of modern Mersin, Turkey. It was inhabited during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine eras. History The main informant about Anchiale was Strabo. ...

.Yumuktepe page (by Şahin Özkan)
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Technical details

The monument is actually a rectangular

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...

high, with a base area of 4 × 2 m² (6 × 12 ft²). Its marble cover (and possibly the sculpture on the monument) have since been ruined.

A legend

According to a popular legend there were two struggling families one in Tarsus and the other in Silifke. The families made peace and the daughter of the Tarsus family and the son of the Silifke family got married. But after the bride’s brother died of natural causes in Silifke, the head of the Silifke family travelled to Tarsus to deliver the bad news. However, before reaching to Tarsus he met with the head of the Tarsus family on the spot where the monument is. The monument was erected by the grieving father.Legend page
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dikilitas, Mersin Neighbourhoods in Akdeniz District Tourist attractions in Mersin Archaeological sites in Mersin Province, Turkey Obelisks in Turkey