Anamur
 At the foot of the rugged walls of the Toros range dividing Turkey's eastern
Mediterranean coast from the Anatolian plateau, are the fertile coastal plains of Anamur.
This is Turkey's southernmost tip facing the Mediterranean to the south and the towering
Toros Mountains to the north. The humid and warm climate of Anamur is ideal for growing bananas, which are cultivated nowhere else in Turkey, as well as
peanuts, dates and avocado pears. Wildlife, too, abounds, such as the loggerhead turtle,
whose last remaining breeding grounds include a beach near Anamur.
After mating the loggerhead females clamber up the beach to lay and bury their eggs in
the sand in just two hours before returning to the sea. Hot, sunny beaches, clean sea, and
many fascinating historical ruins are among Anamur's other attractions.
Before the advent of imported bananas in Turkey, the tiny, delicious and fragrant
bananas grown here were the only kind available in markets and greengrocers. Bananas,
which remain the symbol of Anamur, were in the past grown outdoors, but over recent years
most farmers have begun to cultivate them under glass for protection against frost. Since
both humidity levels and temperature can be controlled in this way, crops are now larger,
enabling local bananas to hold their own in competition against imports. The village of
Kaledran west of Anamur is the only place where you can still see bananas growing
outdoors. Here they are the only crop, and the banana groves are so thick and so green,
that from the road on the hillside above you seem to be looking over a great forest.
In the Saturday market held in Anamur villagers in colourful traditional costume sell
delicious summer fruits direct from their own fields and orchards, including plums, pears,
black grapes and strawberries. People come here to sell their produce from villages and
high pastures as far afield as Ermenek. In between serving customers the stallholders eat
grape molasses mixed with snow as a refreshing antidote to the heat. Densely packed snow
sawn into blocks is brought down from the Toros Mountains to the market, and a few
spoonfuls are scraped off onto a plate. Grape molasses or sour cherry syrup poured over
the snow and stirred together makes a popular old-fashioned substitute for ice-cream known
as karlı pekmez, or 'molasses with snow'.
Anamur has an ancient history going back to the Hittites. In the 1st century BC
Anemurion, as the city was called, came under Roman rule. The Emperor Caligula ceded
Anamur and all the other coastal cities of the eastern Mediterranean to the Kingdom of
Commagene whose capital was Adıyaman. During the Byzantine
period the city was sporadically attacked by Islamic armies, and in the 12th century came
under Seljuk Turkish rule. When the Seljuk state went into decline Anamur became part of
the Karamanoğulları Principality, and in the second half of the 15th century was
incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.
Anamur Castle, one of the best fortified castles in Turkey, lies on the road east of
the town and is thought to date from the Roman period. A small mosque with a single
minaret originally built by the Karamanoğulları in 1300 stands in the west courtyard.
The mosque, which is still open to worship, is largely 16th century Ottoman in
character.The ruins of the ancient city of Anemurion and the nearby beach are both
spectacular. The beach is of oval pebbles of coloured stone and the sea a clear turquoise.
The ruins of the ancient walls and buildings of the city cover Anamur Point and the
hillsides behind.
As you lie beneath one of the rushwork umbrellas on the beach the ruins nearby present
such a vivid picture and are so well preserved, that you seem to hear the voices of its
former inhabitants and the sounds of bustling streets.Anemurion lay in the region of
Cilicia, which gained importance in the Hellenistic period and developed still further
under the Romans due to its proximity to both the island of Cyprus and the major Roman
city of Germanikopolis in the Toros Mountains. It was an important port for the export of
raw materials produced in the region. Excavations carried out by Professor James Russell
of British Columbia University uncovered hundreds of graves on Anamur Point, aqueducts,
odeon, theatre, baths and basilica.
The interior of the mausoleums are adorned with mosaics and frescos. Another of the
sights of Anamur is Köşekbükü Cave near the village of Ovabaşı which contains
stalactites and stalagmites. The cave is located in a rocky area surrounded by Scots pine,
and by it is a café selling delicious savoury pastries known as gözleme and the
yogurt drink ayran. Alternatively, you could try grilled trout caught in the
ice-cold waters of the River Anamur. Round off your visit with a dip in the river waters
which whirl and race down the steep sides of the Toros Mountains, but I lay wager that you
will not be able to stand the freezing water for more than a minute!
- Source: Skylife 10/2000
- By Yusuf Darıyerli
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