Kanlıdivane is an ancient city situated around a big sinkhole

Sinkhole

A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...

 in Mersin Province

Mersin Province

The Mersin Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital is the city of Mersin and the other major town is Tarsus, birthplace of St Paul...

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

.

Geography

Kanlıdivane is in the rural area of Erdemli

Erdemli

Erdemli is a town and district of Mersin Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, west of the city of Mersin.-Geography:The district extends from the Mediterranean coastal plain, the largest agricultural area in Mersin Province, to high in the Taurus Mountains where there is forest, and...

 district, which is a part of Mersin Province at 36°31′32"N 34°10′45"E. It is 18 km (11.2 mi) to Erdemli and 55 km (34.2 mi) to Mersin

Mersin

-Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...

. Its altitude is approximatelly 230 m (754.6 ft). It is close to the town Kumkuyu

Kumkuyu

-Geography:Kumkuyu is a Mediterranean coastal town in the rural area of Erdemli district which is a part of Mersin Province. It is on the main highway . The distance to Erdemli is and to Mersin is . The coordinates are . The population is 2887 as of 2010.-History:The vicinity of the town had been...

 at the coast and just few hundred meters to Çanakçı rock tombs

Çanakçı rock tombs

- Geography :Çanakçı tombs are at about a few hundred meters west of Kanlıdivane sink hole. The general altitude of the area is around .They are sculpted on rocks on the southern side of a road running parallel to Datça-Mersin highway and the Mediterranean coastline at an altitude a few meters...

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The sinkhole is quite wide; the longer dimension being 130 m (426.5 ft). The depth is about 70 m (229.7 ft)

Pre Roman era

Kanlıdivane was a part of the Olba kingdom in the ancient age. In the northern necropolis

Necropolis

A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...

, there is a mausoleum, which was built by the Queen Aba for her husband and sons. On the inscription of the tower at south-west it reads;
"Built by Teukros, the son of priest king Tarkyaris of Olba for Zeus

Zeus

In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...

."

Roman era

By the first century, Olba kingdom became a part of Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

. Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II

Theodosius II

Theodosius II , commonly surnamed Theodosius the Younger, or Theodosius the Calligrapher, was Byzantine Emperor from 408 to 450. He is mostly known for promulgating the Theodosian law code, and for the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople...

 rebuilt the city as a Christian religious center and renamed it Neapolis. There are ruins of basilicas, cisterns, rock cut graves etc. around the sinkhole.

Kanlıdivane in popular culture

Kanlıdivane means "bloody crazy". This may refer to the red color of the surrounding soil. The name may also refer to a dreadful legend according to which the criminals had been executed by throwing into the sinkhole during Roman times.

Kanlıdivane in Mersin Music Festival

Every year during Mersin International Music Festival, one or two outdoor concerts are held in Kanlıdivane. The audiences and performers sit at the opposite sides of the sinkhole. (During such concerts Metropolitan municipality of Mersin add free bus trips to Kanlıdivane.)