The first traces of settlement date back to the 8th century B.C. In the heyday of this settlement, in the Roman imperial period, perhaps more than 20,000 inhabitants lived there. In 52 A.D. Anemurium was besieged in vain by the Cilician Clitae under their leader Troxobor. A relief troop from Syria under Curtius Severus was repulsed by them, only King Antiochos IV of Kommagene could defeat them and kill Troxobor and other leaders.

A severe earthquake in the 4th century destroyed the entire water supply and the restoration of aqueducts was not considered worthwhile. However, the city still existed until the middle of the 7th century.

Anemurium consisted of a fortified upper town on Cape Anamur and a lower town to the north.

In the city itself, remains of a large theatre for about 1,500 spectators, an odeon with about 900 seats, three baths and a columned street running from north to south can still be seen. Worth seeing are the mosaics in the Odeon, which are in a corridor under the spectator ranks. In one of the baths you can still see the water supply; there is a hot water pool heated by a fire under the stone pool.

A large necropolis in the northwest of the city has about 350 graves from the 1st to 4th century. Inside they were decorated with mural paintings and mosaics, of which remains (including a representation of a medusa) can still be seen.

The Great Necropolis