Ancient City Selinus

Selinus (also Selinous, Greek: Σελινοΰς), for a time Traianopolis, was an ancient city in Rough Cilicia (Kilikia Tracheia) on the southern coast of Asia Minor, near the modern city of Gazipaşa in Turkey, 8 km southeast of the ancient city of Iotape.

Little is known about the city's history until Roman times. In 197 BC, it was subjugated by Antiochus III. In 117 AD, the Roman Emperor Trajan died there on his way back from the war against the Parthians. The city was renamed Traianopolis after him, but in late antiquity, when it was the seat of a bishop, it reverted to its old name. In 269, the Persians conquered the city, and in the 5th century, it was affected by the Isaurian unrest.

The city is located on a mountain at the mouth of the Selinus River (today Musa Çay) and expanded into the plain during Roman times. Remains of the city wall, an aqueduct, and a theater have been preserved. A building standing on a colonnaded square (the so-called Şekerhane Köşkü), referred to as Trajan's cenotaph, is probably Seljuk in its current form, but likely stands on the site of the cenotaph, a building of Corinthian order, from which numerous spolia were reused.

The well-preserved castle on the acropolis is a Little Armenian fortress from the 12th century.