Sömek is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of
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.
...
,
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 ...
. Its population is 817 (2022). The village is situated in the peneplane area of
Toros Mountains
The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a ...
. 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 .
Like most other settlements in Mersin Province, the area around Sömek has many ancient ruins. The
rock relief
A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief, relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction ...
of
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...
which is situated north of the village shows the
Isauria
Isauria ( or ; ), in ancient geography, is a rugged, isolated district in the interior of Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surroundings in the Konya P ...
n history of the area. There are also the ruins of two churches which were built probably in the
Byzantine
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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
era of 5th or 6th centuries. Although the east church has completely been demolished, an official archaeology group with the collaboration of
Mersin University
Mersin University () is a public university, built in 1992 in Mersin Province, Turkey. It has about 39,000 students, 1,813 academic staff, and a number of foreign and guest academic staff.
The university has research and sports facilities, in Me ...
is working to unearth the west church. There are also ruins of various houses and cisterns around the east church.
Anatolian civilizations page
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somek, Silifke
Neighbourhoods in Silifke District