Örendibi

Örendibi is the name of a field in the South Turkish village of Sömek, where the remains of an ancient manor and a church are located. The manor was in use from roughly the Roman period until the early Byzantine period.

Location

Örendibi lies on a low hill about one kilometre south of the centre of Sömek in the district of Silifke of the Turkish province of Mersin. The connecting road from Limonlu, the ancient site of Lamos, on the Mediterranean to Cambazlı and further to Uzuncaburç, the ancient Olba, runs through Sömek. The road roughly follows the ancient route connections. The manor is about 14 kilometres from the coast. The area between the rivers Kalykadnos, today Göksu, in the west and Lamos, today Limonlu, in the east formed in antiquity the eastern part of Rough Cilicia.

Description

Due to the poor state of preservation and the heavy vegetation on the site, the individual buildings are difficult to identify. The actual manor consisted of a walled area of 25 × 24 metres. The walls are made of polygonal stones and enclosed various buildings that cannot be defined more precisely. Outside a vaulted cistern, a round altar and a tank in which locally produced olive oil was stored were found. On the slopes of the hill on which the estate lies, the remains of several other buildings, also probably belonging to the manor, can still be seen. The manor also includes a three‑aisled church that shows the typical features of churches in eastern Rough Cilicia. Two sarcophagi with tabula ansata as well as three chamosories found nearby probably date to the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD, as can be inferred from comparisons with examples found in Korykos. Since in other manors of the area such as Gökkale and Karakabaklı Christian re‑use of these burial sites has been demonstrated by cross symbols and corresponding inscriptions, it can be assumed that the buildings created in Roman times were used at least until the 4th century, i.e. in the early Byzantine period. In Örendibi a door lintel was also found with the symbols of a lightning bundle, a shield and next to it a menorah. The former two belong to the Olbian symbols known from the surroundings, which appear frequently since the Hellenistic period. The menorah points to the presence of a Jewish community that existed here peacefully alongside the other religious communities.