33 km south-east of Alanya, towards the ancient city of Selinus (now Gazipasa), is the historical harbour, port city or as it was also called the liman city of Iotape. The ancient name of this ancient city, also common among the local population, is Aytap. The ruins can be seen right from the road - they are located on the Kömürlük promontory, in the gorge and on the slopes of the mountains.
The city was founded in the 2nd century BC, and named, according to historical scholars, based on documentary sources, somewhere in the 1st century in honour of the wife of the Commagenean king Antiochus IV Lotape (38-72 AD). The area between the Euphrates and Taurus mountains was called Commagene in the early AD. Here, as a result of a civil war in the 1st century AD, which was one of the reasons for the destruction of the Seleucid state, an independent state appeared, with Mithridates I as its first ruler. He was succeeded by Antiochus I, whose successor was Mithridates II. So the royal dynasty continued to rule until 72 AD, until the country became part of the Roman province of Syria.
Looking closely one can realise that the ruins of this ancient antique city belong to the Byzantine and ancient Roman periods. From the historical sources that have survived to our time is known that during a rather long period in the Roman era - from the reign of Emperor Trajan (38-72 AD) to Emperor Valerian (270-275 AD), the city minted its own coinage. On one side of the coin was a bust of the emperor, and on the other side were images of gods such as Apollo and Perseus, which were worshipped by the people of the time.
At the eastern end of the ancient city are the ruins of a temple that was built by Pompey in 111-114 AD, as evidenced by an inscription on its wall. The city has a harbour measuring 50x100 metres.
On the plain in front of the gorge connecting the acropolis with the land, there are two paved roads running east and west from the centre of the ensemble. On both sides of these streets can still be seen pedestals, which consist of 3 steps, and pedestals on which statues were once in the distant times. The inscriptions on these pedestals have been deciphered and read by scholars, and it is known that they refer to strong athletes, philanthropists and noble citizens who donated funds for the city.
On the high promontory of Kömürlük in this ancient city was located an acropolis. It served as the centre of the ancient settlement and was an elongated structure that stretched towards the sea. The walls of the city, built for defence purposes, give the local buildings the appearance of an impregnable fortress. But despite this, the buildings that were inside the city walls in those distant times have hardly survived to this day. All of them destroyed so much that even the layout of the ancient city is impossible to determine today.
From west to east along the isthmus linking the cape with the mainland, runs the main street of the city, decorated with columns. Around the bay, to the east of the acropolis, were the city's religious buildings. One of the best preserved of them is the Basilica. "Basilica" means "royal house" in Greek and is a rectangular structure, which consists of three naves, with other rooms attached to it in later times. A small church, which has preserved ancient frescoes of remarkable beauty, is located to the north-west of the basilica.
Drinking water was brought to the city from four reservoirs connected to a drain that was laid from the necropolis in the gorge. The necropolis at Aitapa was situated on hills located in its eastern and northern parts. Today most of the graves of the necropolis have been destroyed, but some of the tombstones and vaulted crypts can still be seen.
There was also a bathhouse. Only two vaulted rooms remain, but the most interesting is its sewage system, which has survived to this day. Archaeologists have established that dirty water coming from the bathhouse was diverted not only through the central channel, which was laid from the gorge directly to the sea, but also through additional channels connected with the main one.
The view from the top of the high hill on which the fortress was built is so beautiful that you simply forget about the difficulties of climbing.
Today the ancient city of Aytap is the most easily accessible of all the preserved ancient cities in the vicinity of Alanya. It is a wonderful holiday destination due to the indescribable beauty of the local nature and the magnificent beaches along the sea shore.
The descent to the sea is quite steep. The terrain is very rocky and rugged, but to the west and east of these ancient ruins are very fertile lands where local banana varieties are still grown today using the principles of terraced agriculture.
It is impossible to visit these picturesque places and not swim in an isolated deserted cove with a sandy beach. The water here is a deep turquoise colour, because of the rocky bottom - very clean, left - a pile of rocks, behind which you can hide from prying eyes, lie down on a wide stone slab and up to a trance state to listen to the sound of the surf, catch the skin splashes from the waves crashing on the massive stones.
Tourists are also offered excursions to the picturesque stalactite caves, which are particularly beautiful and charming.
The modern motorway, located along the Mediterranean coast, passes in the very centre of this city.
