ANCIENT CITY OF KORYKOS (KIZ KALESI)

The ancient city of Korykos is one of the region's most important archaeological sites and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014. During the Roman period, Korykos remained the most important city in Cilicia for 500 years. Rebuilt in the ^12th century, only the ruins of its fortress remain. Korykos Castle faces the Castle of Beauty (Kız Kalesi), which has become the symbol of Mersin. Originally, they were linked by a dike. Built into the rock, 200 m from the shore, the latter has eight towers. It can be reached by boat or admired from the beach while lazing on the sand. The warm, translucent water attracts more and more tourists, and concrete is constantly invading the shoreline, mingling with the ruins of the ancient city.
The legend of Kız Kalesi is similar to the majority of others surrounding the construction of towers and castles in Turkey. One of the kings of the region had a daughter, beautiful and selfless. Her father and subjects adored her. One day, an oracle warned the king. The prophecy foretold that the young girl would one day die from a snake bite. To save his daughter, the king had a castle built in the middle of the sea, since snakes can't swim. The princess lived there, until a snake hidden in a fruit basket bit and killed her. More prosaically, it is thought that the fortress provided shelter from the many pirates who plagued the Mediterranean region...