Yunus Sütunu

Yunus Column is a historical ruin located in the Sarıseki district of Iskenderun, Hatay. This historical ruin, which has the same name as the Sarıseki district, is located at the point where the impenetrable Sarıseki Canyon meets the Mediterranean. The belief that Yunus (prophet) came to the land from the belly of the fish is dominant among the local people. It takes its name from here. However, in historical sources, it was called the Cilician Gate, after its position due to its position.nThe column consisted of two walls extending parallel to each other at a distance of two hundred meters on both banks of the Sarıseki stream flowing through the Sarıseki canyon. The column started from a steep place where the Amanos Mountains did not give any army a chance to be lifted, and the Sarıseki canyon, which divided the Amanos into two like a line, did not give any army a chance to pass, and extended to the sea.nIf it is assumed that the plain on the coast in ancient times was narrower due to the fact that Sarıseki tea had a small amount of alluvium, the importance of this place for the states that dominated it can be understood better. We understand from Xenophon's work Anabasis that the region was fortified by the Persians and started to be used for this purpose. Xenophon, the commander of the Greek military unit involved in the throne fight in the Achaemenid Empire in the 5th century BC, wrote the following statement for this place at that time:n“Cyrus arrived at the gates of Cilicia and Syria in a five-mile march from Isos. These gates are two walls. The first, beyond the Cilicia border, was guarded by Syennesis and a Cilicia unit; Beyond the border, in the other front of Syria, the King was said to have a garrison. The Karsos river, which is a hundred feet wide, flows between the two walls. The span between the walls is six hundred feet. It was impossible to break these walls by force; Because the passage was narrow, the walls went down to the sea, there were steep rocks on the upper sides. There were gates on both walls. Kyros had brought his navy to cross this pass. He wanted to put heavy infantry in front of and behind the gates and force the passage if the enemy protected the Syrian gates. ''

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Address of fish

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