Tapureli ruins

The Tapureli ruins sit on a plateau at 1,080 meters (3,543 feet) overlooking the Limonlu River canyon in Mersin Province. The site contains five churches, a cemetery, residential structures, water cisterns, and a carved horizontal sundial spread across the plateau.

The settlement began as a Hellenistic outpost and experienced major rebuilding during the Roman and early Byzantine periods. These distinct building phases show how different peoples shaped the site over many centuries.

The churches here reveal how Christian communities worshipped and organized their daily life in this mountain setting. Walking through the ruins shows how religious practices and building styles evolved over centuries in this remote location.

The ruins are roughly 35 kilometers from Erdemli and 70 kilometers from Mersin city and require travel through mountainous terrain. Bring sturdy shoes for uneven ground and be prepared for a hike among scattered stone foundations.

The eastern church, known as Church A, yielded numerous artifacts that document how religious architecture changed over time in this region. This single structure offers clues about the evolution of church design across different periods.