Narlıkuyu

Narlıkuyu
—  Town  —
Narlıkuyu Location in Turkey
Coordinates: 36°27′N 34°07′E / 36.45°N 34.117°E / 36.45; 34.117Coordinates: 36°27′N 34°07′E / 36.45°N 34.117°E / 36.45; 34.117
Country	Turkey
Province	Mersin Province
District	Silifke
Town
Government
– Mayor
Elevation	25 m (83 ft)
Population (2010)
– Total	2,798
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
– Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	33940
Area code(s)	0324
Licence plate	33

The title of this article contains the character ı. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Narlikuyu.

Three graces

Narlıkuyu is a small coastal town in Mersin Province, Turkey. (The name of the town means pomegranate well.)^[1]

Geography

Narlıkuyu at 36°27′N 34°7′E / 36.45°N 34.117°E / 36.45; 34.117 is situated on the Mediterranean coast, 65 kilometres (40 mi) south west of Mersin. It is a part of Silifke district which is in turn a part of Mersin Province. It is on the Mersin Antalya highway between two districts of Mersin; Erdemli and Silifke.

The town has many popular fishing restaurants,^[2] located around a small bay famous for its unusually cool and fresh water, fed by underground freshwater streams.

Administration

The township was established in 1994 with the fusion of several small villages. The population is 2798 (2010 est.)^[3]

History

The name of Narlıkuyu was Porto Calamie during Roman Empire. A small 4th century building, once part of a bath and baptism complex financed by Poimenios of Corycus, survives to the present.^[4](Corycus, now called Kızkalesi, is 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) east of Porto Calamie.)

An inscription at the building's entrance reads:

Dear Visitor, if you wonder who has discovered this miraculous water, know that he is Poimenios, the friend of the emprerors and the honest administrator of the holy islands..^[5]

Probably the said emprerors were Arcadius (378-408) and Honorius (384-423). The holy islands are the Princes' Islands of Marmara.

The building is now a museum. The floor mosaic depicts three Graces; Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia, and a couple of partridges and doves. The local name of the mosaic is Üç Güzeller (English: Three beauites) The mosaic refers to the mitological story of baptism of Aphrodite.

See also

• Cennet and Cehennem

References and notes

1. ^ In Narlıkuyu, a is read as o in know, ı is read as o in open and u is read as oo in soon.
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ Statistical Institute page
4. ^ [2]
5. ^ [3]