About Soli-Pompeipolis
In Mersin's Mezitli district, Soli-Pompeipolis preserves a Cilician port within the modern city. Its colonnaded street extends towards the sea; brackets on some columns recall the statues that once lined it.
History
Soli's roots reach into the first millennium BCE, and it developed under the Hellenistic Seleucids. After the piracy conflicts of the first century BCE, Pompey reorganised the region and the city acquired the name Pompeiopolis. Harbour, colonnaded street, baths and theatre marked Roman growth. It remained a bishopric in late antiquity. Earthquakes and coastal change affected much of the harbour infrastructure.
Highlights and principal structures
- Colonnaded street
- Ancient harbour
- Theatre remains
- Roman bath
- Aqueduct
- Necropolis
Historical period
Classical–Hellenistic–Roman