Implemented by Mersin Metropolitan Municipality with the support of Mersin Governorship, Cilicia Road Protection and Sustenance Association and Mersin Zirve Mountaineering Specialized Sports Club 'Historical Cilicia Road Project', continues to host participants with unique walking routes that combine nature with history and culture. The first official walk after the introduction of the Historical Cilicia Road Project received full marks from nature lovers. 'Let's Walk Towards History, Nature and Culture, Friends!' In the walk organized with the slogan, this time the participants walked 5 kilometers along the Silifke Işıkkale-Kubat Canyon-Tekkadın Ruins located in the Olba Stage. The first official walk of the Historical Cilicia Road Project was held with the organization of the Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Youth and Sports Services Department.
The 5-kilometer medium-difficulty track offered nature lovers not only a physical journey but also a historical and cultural one. Walking in the shadow of ancient settlements and in the heart of nature, nature lovers had an unforgettable experience. Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Secretary General Serdal Gökayaz, Mersin Zirve Mountaineering Specialized Sports Club and Cilicia Road Protection and Preservation Association President Ali Rıza Demir, Mersin University Archaeology Department and Cilicia Road Protection and Preservation Association Board Member Prof. Dr. Murat Durukan, Mersin Zirve Mountaineering Specialized Sports Club members and nature lovers attended the walk.
Participants walked through history in the heart of nature
This ancient route, which is 550 kilometers in total, extends from Tarsus to Yeşilovacık. The Historical Cilicia Road, which consists of 4 stages and 38 separate courses called the Silk Road, Toros Mountains, Olba and Aphrodite, is an open-air museum for both nature walkers and history and culture enthusiasts. The courses, which pass through juniper, pine and cedar forests, also carry traces of many civilizations such as the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. The Cilicia Road is not just a walking route; it also offers unique experiences to its participants as a historical road that brings the past and the present together. Participants build a bridge between the past and the present in these lands that carry the accumulation of thousands of years. Those who want to get detailed information about the Historical Cilicia Road https://kilikya.site/ You can visit the site.
Gökayaz: “We will bring the historical Cilicia Road to the point it deserves”
Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Secretary General Serdal Gökayaz, 'Historical Cilicia Road Project'He mentioned that it is a project that they believe in and trust in very much. Gökayaz said, “We are talking about a road consisting of 550 main lines and 4 tracks over 38 kilometers from Silifke to Tarsus. In general, the Cilicia Road is a road with great features like its counterparts and other road lines. We also attach great importance to the promotion of this road and today we carried out our first walk. We made announcements during the week and invited our people and walked these tracks together, we want to walk again from now on.” He said and noted that these studies will continue. Gökayaz stated that they want to promote the other routes of the Historical Cilicia Road in the same way, “Our aim here is to promote the Historical Cilicia Road both within the city, throughout Turkey and internationally. Because when you look at it, it is a very large line and there are historical ruins and old archaeological sites on this line. We will highlight these structures and features on each route. We will bring the Historical Cilicia Road to the point it deserves.” he stated.
Demir: “It is an incredible pleasure for us to be here today”
Ali Rıza Demir, the President of Mersin Zirve Mountaineering Specialized Sports Club and Cilicia Road Protection and Sustenance Association, stated that they are voluntary stakeholders of the project, "5 years ago today, we had a longing to do this interview here, it is truly an incredible happiness. We have opened the event and are marching our people here today for the purpose of promotion." Demir thanked Mersin Metropolitan Municipality and Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Vahap Seçer for the project, “If we had not had a visionary mayor, I never thought we would have come this far. Because it is a difficult job. We are taking the first walk after the opening, but maybe in 5 years we will talk about very different things. There will be Koreans, Chinese or Japanese on this road, we will talk to them. Guesthouses, squeezing and pancake houses will be built on these roads. Guides will come to these roads to guide people.” he stated.
“I think this project will make a great contribution to the city”
Demir stated that the Historical Cilicia Road Project will make great contributions to the economy, culture and history of Mersin. “I think this project will make a great contribution to the city” Demir stated that all of these roads are actually a culture, “On these roads; there are migration routes used by Yoruks, Silk Road, Spice Road, Love Road and Beauty Road. Today, we walked the Roman Road in Olba. All of these have historical and archaeological aspects. Very beautiful stages await us.” dedicate.
Yağmur: “Historical Cilicia Road is an exemplary study for Türkiye”
Mehmet Yağmur, a member of Mersin Zirve Mountaineering Specialized Sports Club, said: “Our municipality and our institution have made an exemplary study for Türkiye on this subject. I have also walked the Lycian Way, but I think this is more beautiful than the Lycian Way. It is a more beautiful place in terms of nature and walking trails. Mersin Metropolitan Municipality’s support is very great. Because it has been supporting this process for 5 years. In other words, if the Metropolitan Municipality did not exist, so many trails would not have been identified and found. This project is one of the greatest contributions made by our Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Vahap Seçer to the promotion of the city.” gave expressions.
At every step of this path there is 'history', 'nature' and 'culture'...
Participant Muhammet Demir said that he was born and raised in Mersin, but that he saw the places he walked on the track for the first time, “I am very happy to be here. I saw these places for the first time and thanks to this we got to know them. The course was difficult and rugged but we hope that such organizations will increase. In fact, we started to get to know these places more with Mersin Metropolitan Municipality.” dedicate.
Participant Duygu Sahile Kılıç stated that she was very pleased with the organization, “I am very happy to be here today. It is truly a beautiful road and I am walking for the first time. I never knew there was such a road. Thank you very much for bringing such a road to Mersin. I did not expect such a beautiful archaeological site. Everything is very beautiful and magnificently thought out. I came for the first time and I recommend it to everyone.” He added that there was no such road in Mersin before, “We are officially the first walkers. I believe that this path will develop a lot. As a person who has visited and loved many historical regions and places in Türkiye, I believe that it will develop and advance Mersin a lot and that Mersin will now come to the place it deserves.” he said and expressed his gratitude to Mersin Metropolitan Municipality for their efforts in the organization.
