Nagidos
The ruins of Nagidos, which, like Kelenderis, is one of the oldest settlements of the region, are situated on a hill close to the shore at the district of Bozyazı. We have very little information about the city, and what has reached us is limited to the visible remains of city walls near the summit of the hill. In addition to these, it is also apparent that the first form of the bridge over Bozyazı river belonged to the Roman period. There are also remains of an aqueduct and the foundations of a bath from the late Roman and Byzantine periods.
Antique sources show that Nagidos, like Kelenderis was colonized by Samos. From the coins of the period, it is seen that Nagidos was under Persian dominance during the 5th and 4th centuries. During the Hellenistic Age it was under the influence of Phtolemayos of Egypt but the following pirate oppression had greatly weakened the city. It is seen that the city in the Middle Ages was rather insignificant and was mainly limited to a concentration on the Bozyaz Island (Nagidussa) which lies very close to the shore. The items at the museum are from graves which were discovered incidentally at the western part of the city. Rather rich offerings for the dead in baked clay sarcophagi belong to 4th and 3rd millenniums B.C were found.
Greek historian Strabon mentions Nagidos along with the city of Anemourion. It is thought that the antique city of Nagidos has been founded by Nagis of Samos in the 5th Century B.C. However, another historian of Antiquity, Hekataios, says that this city was founded by a Semitic leader called “Nagis Kubernetes.” This person mentioned by Hekataios could have been a mythical character. But it is historically confirmed that this city was part of the Kingdom of Tarhundasha founded by the Luwi people in 2000 B.C. In the 8th Century B.C. the Assyrians had come as far as the Göksu River but it is not known whether they were able to come to Nagidos.
The city was a trade colony of the Greek island Samos in the 7th Century B.C. The islet offshore was a big advantage then for a port city. Silver coins found at excavations indicate that Nagidos was very powerful economically during the 4th Century B.C. During the period when the Persians ruled the area, Nagidos became a military garrison under Persian control between 6th and 4th Centuries B.C. It was one of the settlements of Middle Mountainous Cilicia. Archeological excavations began in 1998. The findings are on display at the Museum of Anamur. Part of the antique city probably lies under modern Bozyazı now.
On the 2nd kilometer of the Bozyazı – Mersin road there is a hill named Maraş rising smoothly on the seaside. Some experts think that the ruins on this hill belong to the city of Arsione. The existence of Arsione is known from the writings of antique historians like Strabon and Pilinus. The Inscription of Peace found in Bozyazı also confirms the existence of Arsione. There are remnants of an antique civilization on the ground surface on the rocky promontory. To the west of the ruins, there is a cove, which could have been used as a natural port. On the northern slopes of the hill, there are ruins among the bushes that indicate the existence of a Roman – Byzantine settlement. The foundations and some of the walls of the buildings are still standing. There are the ruins of three Byzantine churches at the center of the settlement area. Church walls are built with unhewn rocks and the foundation plan of the buildings can be discerned from the remaining parts. To the west of the settlement area there are vaulted and domed Roman tombs again built with roughly hewn stones. On the exterior surfaces, marks of mosaics can be seen.
Also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagidos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bozyaz%C4%B1#History
http://www.akmedanmed.com/article_en.php?artID=225&catID=8
