Seleucia Pieria Ancient City (Çevlik)

Priority Stop Popularity 54/100 Visit ~1 saat Best Season Spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October); mild weather and the tunnel's interior coolness make the walk comfortable. Category Archaeology / Ancient City

Archaeology Culture

Seleucia Pieria is the ancient port city founded around 300 BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's successors, to serve as the seaport of Antioch on the Orontes (modern Antakya), the Seleucid capital.

History

Today it survives as a wide open-air archaeological site above the sea at the village of Çevlik, roughly 7 kilometres northwest of Samandağ and 35 kilometres southwest of Antakya, at the foot of Mount Musa (the Nur Mountains). Its founder named the surrounding landscape Pieria after a region of his Greek homeland with a similar setting between sea and mountain. The city changed hands repeatedly during the wars between the Seleucids and Ptolemies until Antiochus III recaptured it for good in 219 BC. It also holds a place in Christian tradition: the apostles Paul and Barnabas set sail from this harbour on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:4).

Architecture and Remains

The site is divided into an upper and a lower city, the walled upper town spanning a circumference of about 13 kilometres. Visible remains include a necropolis, a theatre, a citadel, temple foundations, column plinths, Roman sarcophagi and fortification walls, most of the standing structures dating from the Roman period. The city's crowning monument is the Vespasianus-Titus Tunnel, an approximately 1,350-1,400 metre rock-cut water tunnel and canal complex. It was ordered by Emperor Vespasian (AD 69-79) to divert floodwaters descending the mountain and keep the harbour from silting up; work intensified under his son Titus (79-81) and, according to inscriptions, was not fully completed until the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161). The historian Flavius Josephus records that Jewish captives brought after the fall of Jerusalem laboured on the project. Beside the tunnel lies the Beşikli Cave, a multi-tiered rock-cut Roman necropolis.

Visiting and Access

Agencies favour Seleucia Pieria in Hatay itineraries because a single stop combines ancient engineering with a scenic nature walk; the 1.3-kilometre passage through the tunnel gives visitors a cinematic experience between towering rock walls. The average visit lasts 60-90 minutes including the tunnel and cave. On guided tours it is usually visited in the afternoon block after Antakya's old town and the Harbiye waterfalls, then linked toward Samandağ beach for sunset. Nearby points include the Titus Tunnel, Beşikli Cave, Samandağ beach, Vakıflı Village and the Monastery of Saint Simeon. The rock-carved Vespasianus-Titus inscription, the play of light and shadow at the tunnel mouth and the canal outlet opening to the sea are the most popular photo spots. After the February 2023 earthquake the site was closed for a period and has since reopened; visitors are advised to confirm current opening status and hours before travelling.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons — click a photo for author and licence.

Visit & Logistics

Getting thereAbout 35 km from Antakya via the D817/Samandağ direction (40-50 min); 7 km from central Samandağ to Çevlik. By public transport: Antakya-Samandağ dolmuş plus a Çevlik minibus/taxi. A private car or tour coach is the most practical option.
ParkingParking is available at Çevlik / the Titus Tunnel entrance; there is space for cars and tour coaches in front of the site entrance.
Coach accessTour coaches can reach the Çevlik site car park; the visit continues on foot from the entrance point. Advance coordination is recommended for large coaches manoeuvring on the narrow coastal road.
AccessibilityLimited. The paths to the tunnel and Beşikli Cave are rocky, stepped and uneven, making wheelchair access difficult; the entrance area and panorama points are suitable for visitors with reduced mobility, but the route inside the tunnel is demanding.
Photo spotsThe rock-carved Vespasianus-Titus inscription; the play of light and shadow at the tunnel mouth and the corridor between its high rock walls; the canal outlet opening to the sea; the rock-tomb façades of Beşikli Cave; the view of the Mediterranean and Çevlik harbour from the site.
Suggested routeOn the second day of a Hatay tour, in the afternoon block after Antakya's old town and the Harbiye waterfalls; visited together with the Titus Tunnel and Beşikli Cave, then linked toward Samandağ beach for sunset.

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