Dörtayak is an ancient cenotaph in ancient Kelenderis, modern Aydıncık of Mersin Province, Turkey

Geography

It is close to the Turkish state highway D.400. Its distance to

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

is .

History

Although the building is known as a cenotaph, according to Aydıncık culture society it might also be a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

. There are no documents about the history of the cenotaph. But judging from the architecture it is assumed to be built in the 2nd century AD during the Roman Empire.

The building

The building has a square plan as its Turkish name suggests. (Turkish name ''Dörtayak'' means "Four feet") The four wide cut-stone columns in each corner are so oriented that the four sides of the building face the cardinal directions. Presently there are no side walls. The ceiling is supported by vaults. The total height of the building is . Its roof is pyramidal and this may indicate an Egyptian style.

Historical references

Captain

Francis Beaufort Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort (; 27 May 1774 – 17 December 1857) was an Irish hydrographer, rear admiral of the Royal Navy, and creator of the Beaufort cipher and the Beaufort scale. Early life Francis Beaufort was descended f ...

in 1812, describes this building as "''it has a single arch on each side which supports a pyramidal roof of large stones and it seems to have been intended to contain a statue''."Francis Beaufort:Karamania (google books)
/ref> According to Victor Langlois, "''the building with large cut stones, rises conically . The top is decorated with a beautiful cornice''"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dortayak Aydıncık District, Mersin Cenotaphs in Turkey Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Turkey Archaeological sites in Mersin Province, Turkey