Ayaş, Mersin

Ayaş is a part of Erdemli district, which is a part of Mersin Province. It is on Turkish state highway D.400 at about 36°29′N 34°11′E. Its distance from Mersin is 55 kilometres (34 mi) and from Erdemli was 18 kilometres (11 mi). The population is 2269 as of 2019.[1] The town is situated at the coast and there are two beaches of touristic potential, Yemişkumu and Merdivenkuyu.

Ayaş had been inhabited since the ancient ages. Ancient Ayas was an island named Elaiussa and a town on the shore facing the island named Sebaste. Archelaus of Cappadocia had a palace in Elaiussa.[2] But the island had since been joined the mainland because of alivion accumulation. During middle age, Elaiussa Sebaste lost its former importance.[3] After the 12th century, the ruins of the former town became a battle ground between the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and the Karamanids. The area around the former town was incorporated into Ottoman Empire in the 15th century and it became the grazing area of a nomadic Turkmen tribe named Ayaş. A part of the tribe settled in the village named after Ayaş and, in 1989, it was incorporated into Kumkuyu municipality on the east. In 1999, Ayaş was declared a town and issued from Kumkuyu municipality.

The town houses and the ruins next to each other

Like most towns around, Ayaş economy depends on vegetable agriculture. Tourism has begun to play a role in the town's economy and there are hotels, beaches and summer houses.

• Kanlıdivane
• Çanakçı rock tombs