Gökkale is an ancient

villa rustica Villa rustica () was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority of Roman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large ...

Silifke Silifke is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Mersin Province, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,692 km2, and its population is 132,665 (2022). It is west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of the Çukurova plain. ...

district of

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Geography

Gökkale is situated to the northwest of the İmamlı village. Imamlı can be reached via a 15 km (9.3 mi) road from

Atakent Atakent is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Silifke, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 8,195 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography Atakent is a Mediterranean coastal town. A ...

which is on Turkish state highway D.400. The - road from İmamlı to Gökkale is not accessible by motor vehicles. But there is a footpath which at times coincides with a

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

. The distance to Silifke is and to

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

is .

History

Gökkale literally means "Skycastle". But actually it was a residence. Gökkale is situated in a region which was once called

Cilicia Trachaea Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

(Rugged Cilicia). This region was famous for olive production and there were vast farms during the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and early

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

eras. Villa rusticas were residences of wealthy farm owners.

Building

The building with orthogonal masonry has six rooms. The windows are supported by vaults. There is a big

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

under the front yard of the building. There are two sarcophagi, the ruins of an olive press and a mill around the building.Mersin Ören Yerleri, Mersin Valiliği, İstanbul, 2009, p.243

Trivia

In 1949 the building was temporarily used as a village school.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gokkale Silifke District Archaeological sites in Mersin Province, Turkey Villa rustica Olba territorium