Seleucia ( el, Σελεύκεια – also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

as Seleukeia) was originally an ancient Greek city on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

coast of

Pamphylia Pamphylia (; grc, Παμφυλία, ''Pamphylía'') was a region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the north by ...

, 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 re ...

, approximately 15 km northeast of

Side Side or Sides may refer to: Geometry * Edge (geometry) of a polygon (two-dimensional shape) * Face (geometry) of a polyhedron (three-dimensional shape) Places * Side (Ainis), a town of Ainis, ancient Thessaly, Greece * Side (Caria), a town of an ...

; the site is about 1 km north of the village of Bucakşeyhler (also Bucakşıhler), approximately 12 km northeast of

Manavgat Manavgat is a city in the district of the Antalya Province in Turkey, from the city of Antalya. The Manavgat River has a waterfall near the city. The population of the district is 242,490 (2020 census). Geography Between the Taurus Mountains to ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Modern scholars, however, place Pamphylian Seleucia near Şıhlar, north of the mouth of the

Peri Su In Persian mythology, peris (singular: peri; from fa, پَری, translit=parī, , plural , ; borrowed in European languages through ota, پَری, translit=peri) are exquisite, winged spirits renowned for their beauty. Peris were later ado ...

, west of Side. and the remains at this location are rather considered those of

Lyrba Lyrbe (spelled Lyrba in the 1910 ''Catholic Encyclopedia''; grc, Λύρβη) was an ancient city and later episcopal see in the Roman province of Pamphylia Prima and is now a titular see.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vatica ...

. Another name for the city in the Middle Ages was Scandalor, which was documented on

portolan Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word ''portolan'' comes from the Italian ''portulano'', meaning "related to ports or harbors", and whi ...

maps. It is situated on a hilltop with steep escarpments on several sides making a strong defensive position.

The Site

There are remains of an

agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...

containing a row of two-storey and three-storey building façades, a gate, 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 ...

, a Roman bath, a

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

, in addition to several temples and churches. Because of its remote location, the site has not been plundered for building materials and the area is littered with columns and other items like large grindstones for flour making.

References

* Blue Guide, Turkey, The Aegean and Mediterranean Coasts (), p. 496.

External links

Hazlitt, Classical Gazetteer
Archaeological sites in Antalya Province Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Seleucid colonies in Anatolia Populated places in ancient Pamphylia Ruins in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey Geography of Antalya Province History of Antalya Province Manavgat District {{AncientPamphylia-geo-stub