Topkapı Palace
The sultans’ palace on Sarayburnu: courtyards, the Imperial Council, the treasury and the terraces over the water. Dated entry, sold online on its own site.
Silifke Narlıkuyu Mosaic Museum
A small museum built around a Roman bath floor showing the Three Graces, on the bay of Narlıkuyu near Silifke.
About the museum
The Narlıkuyu Mosaic Museum stands in the small coastal town of Narlıkuyu, in the Silifke district. It was created in 1975-76, when the mosaic floor of a Roman bath was enclosed within a protective building.
The mosaic depicts the Three Graces. According to the story, Poimenios, a high official in the Eastern Roman Empire, had the bath built and drew on fresh water flowing from the depths of the sinkhole known as Paradise, which meets the sea in this small bay. Today only the water trough and the floor mosaic of the bathing area survive.
In ancient and Byzantine times the bay was a sea gateway for pilgrims visiting the Heaven and Hell sinkholes, and in the Middle Ages the settlement was known as Porto Calamie. The museum is small, so a visit is quick, but the mosaic is vivid and works well as part of a day on this coast.
Tips
- The Heaven and Hell sinkholes are nearby and pair naturally with this stop.
- The museum is small; combine it with the Silifke Museum for a fuller picture of the area.
Questions
When is Silifke Narlıkuyu Mosaic Museum open?
According to the Ministry’s listing it opens at 08:15 and closes at 17:00 (last entry 16:45). Open every day.
Can I buy tickets for Silifke Narlıkuyu Mosaic Museum on this site?
No. This site sells no tickets. Topkapı Palace, the Basilica Cistern, Hagia Sophia and Dolmabahçe Palace are sold on our sister sites; for Silifke Narlıkuyu Mosaic Museum, buy at the ticket office or on the Ministry’s official e-ticket system.
Where is Silifke Narlıkuyu Mosaic Museum?
Silifke Narlıkuyu Mosaic Museum is in Mersin, Türkiye — Akdeniz Mahallesi, .Çerkez Sokak,. No:2.
Nearby
Mersin
Cennet and Cehennem Sinkholes
Two vast natural sinkholes on the Mediterranean coast, with a 5th-century chapel, a Hellenistic temple of Zeus and the myth of the monster Typhon.
Mersin
Kızkalesi (Maiden's Castle) and Korykos
The coastal ruins of ancient Korykos at Kızkalesi, Mersin: a land castle, a necropolis valley and the sea castle offshore, layered with Roman, Byzantine and Armenian history.
Mersin
Silifke Atatürk House and Ethnography Museum
A 1914 stone-and-timber house in Silifke where Atatürk stayed on his first visit in 1925, now showing his belongings, photographs and local ethnography.
Mersin
Silifke Ayatekla Archaeological Site
A cave church near Silifke that grew around the refuge of Saint Thekla, one of Christianity's earliest and best-known women saints, with ruins from the age of Emperor Zeno.
Mersin
Silifke Museum
The archaeological museum of Silifke, with finds from the Bronze Age to the Ottoman era shown in stone, coin, jewellery, ethnographic and garden displays.
Uşak
Atatürk and Ethnography Museum
A wooden mansion in Uşak that served as a War of Independence headquarters, now showing local ethnography downstairs and Atatürk's rooms and belongings upstairs.
Istanbul tickets online
Four Istanbul landmarks, each sold on its own site by the agency behind this guide — dated entry and free cancellation up to 24 hours.
Basilica Cistern
Justinian’s great underground reservoir: 336 columns in still water and the two Medusa heads. Fast-track entry with a digital audio guide.
Hagia Sophia
Justinian’s cathedral, the sultans’ mosque and a working mosque again today. The ticket admits you to the upper visitor gallery.
Dolmabahçe Palace
A nineteenth-century palace on the water’s edge: the Selamlık, the Ceremonial Hall under its chandelier, the crystal staircase and the Harem.