Editing Anazarbus (section)

== Remains ==
[[File:Anavarza_castle_2775.jpg|thumb|right| Anavarza's upper city]]
[[File:Anavarza_castle_2778.jpg|thumb|left| Anavarza's upper city]]
[[File:Anavarza_castle_2783.jpg|thumb|right| In the foreground: Some remains of the burial church of the Armenian kings, 12th century]]
[[File:Anavarza_castle_2792.jpg|thumb|left| Anavarza's castle]]

The Crusaders are probably responsible for the construction of an impressive donjon atop the center of the outcrop.  Most of the remaining fortifications, including the curtain walls, massive horseshoe-shaped towers, undercrofts, cisterns, and free-standing structures date from the Armenian periods of occupation, which began with the arrival of the [[Thoros I, Prince of Armenia|Rubenid Baron T‛oros I]], {{circa|1111}}.<ref name="edwards">{{cite book| last1=Edwards|first1=Robert W.| title=The Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia: Dumbarton Oaks Studies XXIII |date=1987 |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University| location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=0-88402-163-7|pages=65–72, 281, pls.9a–18b, 287b–289c}}</ref>  Within the fortress are two Armenian chapels and the magnificent (but severely damaged) three-aisle church built by T‛oros I to celebrate his conquests.<ref>Robert W. Edwards, "Ecclesiastical Architecture in the Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia: First Report, ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'' 36, 1982, pp.156–61, 168, pls.1–7.</ref><ref>Robert W. Edwards, "Ecclesiastical Architecture in the Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia: Second Report, ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'' 37, 1983, pp.128–34, pls.2, 18–29, 36–46.</ref>  The church was once surrounded by a continuous, well-executed dedicatory inscription in Armenian.

The present wall of the lower city is of late construction. It encloses a mass of ruins conspicuous in which are a fine [[triumphal arch]], the colonnades of two streets, a [[gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasium]], etc. A stadium and a theatre lie outside the walls to the south. The remains of the acropolis fortifications are very interesting, including roads and ditches hewn in the rock. There are no notable structures in the upper town. For picturesqueness the site is not equaled in Cilicia, and it is worthwhile to trace the three fine [[aqueduct (watercourse)|aqueducts]] to their sources.<ref name="EB1911"/>  A necropolis on the escarpment to the south of the curtain wall can also be seen complete with signs of illegal modern excavations.

A modest Turkish farming village ([[Dilekkaya, Kozan|Dilekkaya]]) lies to the southwest of the ancient city. A small outdoor museum with some of the artifacts collected in the area can be viewed for a small fee. Also nearby are some beautiful mosaics discovered in a farmers field.

A visit in December 2002 showed that the three aqueducts mentioned above have been nearly completely destroyed. Only small, isolated sections are left standing with the largest portion lying in a pile of rubble that stretches the length of where the aqueducts once stood. A powerful earthquake that struck the area in 1945 is thought to be responsible for the destruction.

In 2013, excavations uncovered the first known colonnaded double-lane road of the ancient world, 34 meters wide and 2700 meters long, also uncovered the ruins of a church and a bathhouse.<ref name="dailysabah.com">[https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2017/11/26/statue-of-hygieia-and-eros-uncovered-in-southern-turkey Statue of Hygieia and Eros uncovered in southern Turkey]</ref>

In 2017, archaeologists discovered a limestone statue of the goddess [[Hygieia]] and the god [[Eros]]. The statue is thought to date to the third or fourth century B.C.<ref name="dailysabah.com"/>