Erdemli is situated between the districts of Mezitli (to the east) and Silifke (to the west) (to the west). Erdemli is bounded to the north by Karaman Province and to the south by the Mediterranean Sea. The district stretches from the Mediterranean coastal plain, Mersin Province's largest agricultural area, to high in the Taurus Mountains, where there are large forests.
With the exception of some hand-weaving of rugs, the local economy is based on agriculture. Citrus fruits, bananas, and other fruits and vegetables are grown year round in open fields or greenhouses on the coastal plain. Mountain high meadows are planted with grain pulses and fruits like apples, peaches, and cherries. Vineyards, olive groves, and fig trees can also be found at these elevations.
Erdemli is now attracting infrastructure investment in order to develop a tourist industry.
The endangered Mediterranean monk seal lives along the coast. The Middle East Technical University in Ankara has a graduate school for marine sciences with a biology group that monitors the seals.
Touristical Places in Erdemli
Akkale
Although the name Akkale means "White Castle," the complex was not a castle, but rather a small, prosperous settlement. It is made up of the ruins of the main building, which was once five stories tall, a large cistern, and a number of other structures. The five-story structure is known as a palace (Turkish: Akkale saray), and it may have served as both the governor's office and his residence. The corbels on all sides of the building indicate the presence of a now-demolished balcony that encircled the structure.
The building's main staircase was a spiral staircase. The treasury office is assumed to be a small structure with documents stored in the basement. With over 17,000 cubic metres, the cistern is one of the largest in Cilicia (600,000 cu ft). Its purpose was to sell water to ships.
A free-standing rectangular structure within this complex was thought to be a church and has one of the region's few extant domes on pendentives. However, in 1989, an archaeological study with a plan was published, describing the site as a mausoleum. This cruciform structure was built with beautifully cut blocks of limestone masonry.
Emirzeli
The first ruins in Emirzeli date from the Hellenistic period, around the 2nd century BC. The town was a vital part of the Hellenistic kingdom of Olba. After the Hellenistic states fell apart, the settlement became a part of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. The site appears to have been abandoned later. A Turkmen tribe established the modern village to the east of the site.
Çanakçı rock tombs
The tombs were carved in the second century AD, during the reign of the Roman Empire. Each tomb has a rectangular entryway. There are inscriptions on some of the openings that condemn potential tomb thieves. Human figures are also carved on some tombs, unquestionably belonging to the bodies in the tombs. There are three human figures in niches close to each other, one group of two and one human figure in one niche.
Öküzlü
The site's original name is unknown. The Turkish name küzlü (literally "with ox") refers to oxen reliefs on column heads (now in Mersin Museum). Archaeological evidence from masonry suggests that the site dates back to the Hellenistic period. It was rebuilt in the 5th or 6th centuries, during the early Byzantine period.
Kızkalesi
Corycus was a large city in ancient times. It passed through the hands of the Seleucid Empire, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the various Seljuk empires, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, Beylik of Karaman, and, finally, the Ottoman Empire. It is known in Turkish history as Prince Cem Sultan's departure point from Turkey in 1482, following his defeat in an Ottoman civil war on his way to Rome. Following Cem's departure, Kzkalesi became the winter base for nomadic Turkmen tribes known as Ayaş. It was designated as a township seat in 1992. Agriculture and tourism are the two most important economic activities. The most common crops are tomatoes, cucumbers, apricots, beans, and citrus. The town's touristic potential is notable, with widespread historical ruins and wide beaches, but Kzkalesi's tourism economy is not yet up to international standards.
Elaiussa Sebaste
The island that was the site of the first settlement here, which has been excavated since 1995 under the direction of Italian archeologist Eugenia Equini Schneider, is almost completely buried under sand. The original settlement, which was built to provide security for the harbors on either side, is now a peninsula. On the peninsula's western bay, the ruins of a bath, a cistern, a defense wall, and a breakwater can be seen. The most important remains unearthed in the city are a mosaic-paved bath and a small basilica on a circular base. Today, on the opposite side of the D.400 highway that connects Elaiussa and Sebaste, stands a 2nd century AD theater with only 23 rows of seats, whose steps and decorations have succumbed to centuries of plunder. The agora is located next to the theater and was most likely built during the imperial period. Two monumental fountains in the shape of lions once stood at the entrance to the agora, which is surrounded by a semi-destroyed defense wall. Inside the agora is a large church with a sand-covered floor to protect the mosaic pavement. Elaiussa's only temple is located on a hill overlooking the sea, just outside the city.
Elaiussa Sebaste's ruins also house the richest and most impressive necropolis among ancient Cilician cities. On a hill to the north of the city, the "Avenue of Graves" preserves nearly a hundred graves of various shapes and sizes scattered among the lemon trees. The aesthetic forms of Cilicia Tracheia's monumental graves are remarkable.
The ancient aqueducts that carried water from the Lamos ("Lemon") river to the ruins also adorn the city's two entrances. The aqueduct to the west of the city, in particular, is in good shape. These aqueducts formed a canal system that ran all the way to Corycus centuries ago.
Kanlıdivane
Around the sinkhole, there are antiquity ruins. Victor Langlois and Semavi Eyice discovered and surveyed them.
Pre-Roman era Kanldivane was a part of the Olba Kingdom in the pre-Roman era. A mausoleum built by Queen Aba for her husband and sons can be found in the northern necropolis. The south-west tower's inscription reads, "Built by Teukros, son of priest king Tarkyaris of Olba for Zeus."
The Roman era
The Olba kingdom had become a vassal of the Roman Empire by the first century. The city was renamed Neapolis by Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II after he rebuilt it as a Christian religious center. Around the sinkhole, there are ruins of basilicas, cisterns, rock cut graves, and other structures.
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