Saint Thecla Underground Church
Today, the ruins remain within the urban fabric of Silifke. It can be reached by roads of approximately one kilometer, by deviating from the state highways that connect Silifke to the north and Mersin to the west. The church is 4 kilometers from Silifke city center and 85 kilometers from Mersin. The roads were asphalt roads in the city. According to the Christian understanding, Aya Tekla is the oldest saint of Christianity and one of the companions of St. Paul. As a young girl in Konya, influenced by St. Paul's speeches, she became a Christian and worked to spread the religion. Since it was considered a crime to make propaganda for Christianity at that time, he spent the last period of his life hiding in a cave near Silifke, and according to the belief, he disappeared when he was wanted to be killed here as well. When Christianity was released, the place where he lived became a place of cross and a church was built in his name.
