Kanlıdivane Archaeological Site

Kanlıdivane, ancient Kanytella in Mountainous Cilicia, lies about 50 kilometres west of Mersin, off the road at Ayaş in Erdemli district. The city was built around one of the region's largest sinkholes: the obruk measures 142 metres by 95 metres, is 50 metres deep and has a circumference of 413 metres.

Early findings show that the site was continuously inhabited from the Hellenistic period to Late Antiquity, roughly the 2nd or 3rd century BC to the 7th century AD. A polygonal masonry wall found during research suggests a fortress here in the Hellenistic era. From the 15th century, Turkmen groups began to settle in the area.

After vegetation was cleared, many of the spaces turned out to be olive-processing workshops, and numerous cisterns were found. The city was linked to the ancient harbour of Akkale, and a paved Roman road west of Church III can now be followed more easily. The name Kanlıdivane is often explained as combining kanlı (bloody), from the reddish rock of the site, and divan, the councils held by Turkmen tribes gathered here.