Ancient City Syedra

Syedra (Greek: Σύεδρα) was an ancient city in "Rough" Cilicia (Cilicia Tracheia) on the southern coast of Asia Minor, 18 kilometers southeast of Alanya, 24 kilometers northwest of Selinus, modern-day Gazipaşa in Turkey; today Asar Tepe.

First mentioned in literature in the middle of the 1st century BC and counted as part of Cilicia, Syedra belonged to the province of Pamphylia at the latest since Tiberius, after a period of unclear rule.

The ruins of the city are located on a high hilltop above the coast. The architecture consists of rubble masonry, which was probably formerly covered with lime plaster. On the rock terraces, the buildings are staggered along partly narrow, slope-parallel or stepped alleys.

In the center there is a slope-parallel colonnaded street with granite columns. Public buildings include a profane basilica and a thermal bath complex, as well as a natural rock cave that was developed as a spring house. Several large cisterns were fed from this. Remains of late antique fortification walls can also be seen. So far, only one early Byzantine church has been identified, with a middle Byzantine small church as a subsequent use. Southwest of the city is the imperial-era necropolis.