Geography

Üçayak ruins are on the plateau at the south of Toros Mountains

Taurus Mountains

Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...

 with an altitude of 1160 metres (3,805.8 ft) just next to the small Turkmen village named Küstülü in Erdemli

Erdemli

Erdemli is a town and district of Mersin Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, west of the city of Mersin.-Geography:The district extends from the Mediterranean coastal plain, the largest agricultural area in Mersin Province, to high in the Taurus Mountains where there is forest, and...

 district of Mersin Province. Although the site is in the Mediterranean Region

Mediterranean Region, Turkey

The Mediterranean Region is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions . It is bordered by the Aegean Region to the west, the Central Anatolia Region to the north, the Eastern Anatolia Region to the northeast, the Southeastern Anatolia Region to the east, Syria to the southeast, and...

 of Turkey, bird's flight distance to Mediterranean

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 coast is 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) and highway distance to the main highway at the coast is 25 kilometres (15.5 mi). The total distance to Erdemli is about 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) and to Mersin

Mersin

-Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...

 is about 65 kilometres (40.4 mi)

The ruins

The ruins compose of two houses and a cistern. The big house is actually a two or three storey building with balconies and wide windows on the second floor. The building was a villa rustica

Villa rustica

Villa rustica was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a villa set in the open countryside, often as the hub of a large agricultural estate . The adjective rusticum was used to distinguish it from an urban or resort villa...

 during Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

period. The stone walls, interior coving and blind vaults as well as corbels to support the balconies survive. But the ceiling and floor structures which were wooden have been demolished. There is a wide downspout which leads the rain water to a cistern at the back of the house. (In Mediterrenean area such cisterns were common during the Roman times). One of the balconies was actually a toilet room with sewage drain. There is also a smaller house at the back which was probably a service building of the villa.

Reference