Environs of the City

It does not seem possible to identify the territory of Sillyon and to draw its precise boundaries. However, considering the studies carried out to date and the territories of neighbouring cities, the territory the city can be described approximately. The city’s territory can be extended to the Kestros (Aksu) River in the west and the Mediterranean in the south, starting from the foothills of the Taurus bordering in the north. Thus, the city presents a model with both rugged and flat terrain in its territory and connected to the sea and fertile, allowing us to think of various settlements.

It is known that rural settlements proliferated around Sillyon after the second century AD along with population growth and improved security. It can be said that the small settlements in the Sillyon’s territory exhibit a model of agricultural production and connected settlement organisation. It is seen that the Kepez settlement located about 4 km north of Sillyon and exhibiting probably a rural character from the Late Roman Imperial period, and the Gökçepınar Tower settlement located in the upper part of a hill where the Pamphylia Plain gradually rises and the Tauruses begin, constitute the boundary of its territory in the north and northeast of the city. On the other hand, it can be said that an area of approximately 15 km stretching down to the Mediterranean in the south is also part of Sillyon’s territory. Just south of Sillyon, on the Sillyon Stream, there is a coastal settlement called Kynosarion (Kυνοσάϱιον), which may be part of Sillyon’s chora. Kynosarion settlement, located in Taşlı Burun locality within the borders of Belek neighbourhood, should also be the port of Sillyon. In addition, a settlement dating back to late antiquity was identified in the studies carried out in Dikmen neighbourhood, which is about 13 km from Sillyon, near Kadriye. Due to the distance of this place to Sillyon and the location of Kynosarion, it is thought to be another small settlement in the south part of the territory. In the west, in the direction of Perge, due to lack of archaeological and epigraphic evidence, the city’s territory can be suggested to reach up to the Kestros (Aksu) River. The Dorumburnu settlement within the boundaries of the Nebiler neighbourhood and showing character of Late Antiquity stands out as a rural area to the west of the city.

With the arrival of the Turks in the region, not only at Sillyon but also in its environs settlements of Turkish-Islamic period are observed to increase. That the mosques and monumental tombs, especially cemeteries, dating from the thirteenth century into the Ottoman period, especially in many villages around. Macar [Hungarian] Mosque in Gebiz neighbourhood, Aşağı Oba Mosque, Tekke Köy Mosque; Tomb of Bali Baba in Tekkeköy, Tombs of Uzunlar, Balım Kız and Bababeleğeni in the vicinity of Yanköy; Tekkeköy Cemetery, Koducak Cemetery and Kocagözler Cemetery stand out as the identified Turkish-Islamic period remains.