Demirkoprukoy Attractions

Near the village of Demirköprü, 15m/9.5mi east of Antakya, the Orontes is spanned by a medieval limestone bridge, which Baldwin IV renovated in 1161. An earthquake in 1837 left the two towers of the bridge in ruins. Immediately south of the bridge lies the Tell Açana archeological site and on the south side of the Reyhanli road a few kilometers further east the Tell Taynat settlement mound. The latter, extending for some 500m x 620m/547yds x 678yds, was excavated between 1935 and 1938 by McEwan and Braidwood. First settled around 3000 B.C. it remained inhabited for about a thousand years during which time the summit plateau came to be occupied by a citadel with a large south-facing palace and a temple with a vestibule. Magnificent column bases found here can be seen in the Archeological Museum in Ankara. At Tell Cüydeyde, another site in the vicinity, archeologists have uncovered levels forming a continuous series from 4500 B.C. through to A.D. 600 (ceramic finds).