About

The Cilicia Road is a historic project that brings together ancient roads, cultural roads, trade routes, historical paths, roads of beauty and love; the Silk Road that carried different ideas and cultures, the long migration routes used by the Yörük nomads between their summer and winter pastures in the Taurus Mountains, and the Aphrodisias roads with their dazzling white sand and turquoise sea reminiscent of coral bays, named after the goddess of love and beauty.

Built upon four separate cultural heritages, the route begins in Tarsus, our ancient city that was the cradle of civilizations. Rising from the banks of the Berdan River, it follows the traces of trade (Silk Road) once traveled by oxcarts and war chariots, visits caravansaries of the era, passes through the Gülek Pass and the foothills of the Taurus Mountains. It continues along the migration paths used by Yörük nomads at 2,300 meters altitude, who spent springs in summer pastures, summers on the plateau, autumns in transitional pastures, and winters in winter quarters.

Continuing from the Taurus toward the Mediterranean, the route reaches an area bearing the footprints of the Kingdom of Olba, which was established in Mersin province in antiquity with its eastern border roughly at Lamas Stream and western border at the Göksu River. Following the traces of history in the region, it ends at the magnificent Tisan Peninsula dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite, where blue meets green, with its dazzling white sand and turquoise sea reminiscent of coral bays. The interconnected route rises from sea level to 2,300 meters, marked with international standard red-and-white (Grande Randonnée) stripes and direction signs, comprising 4 stages, 38 sections, and 575 kilometers.

The Cilicia Road Project was completed in 5 years under the sponsorship of Mersin Metropolitan Municipality, with the guidance of Mersin Zirve Mountaineering Sports Club and the academic supervision of Prof. Dr. Murat Durukan.