Tunnel Of Titus - Samandagi

Located at 29 km from Antakya, Samandag was originally founded by Seleucus Nicator in 310 BC as Seleucia Pieria . It was located at the mouth of the Orantes River and served as the seaport of Antioch in Roman times. The river was easily navigable by ships that carried cargo to and from the sea.

The remains of the ancient city include the ruins of its defense walls , numerous rock-hewn Roman tombs, a monumental gateway, a doric-order temple and a remarkable water tunnel measuring 1300 meters long which was built in the 1st century AD by the Roman Emperor Vespasian. Carved into the limestone cliffs near the tunnel are twelve rock tombs that date back to Roman times, the largest and most famous of which is the one known as Besikli Magara (The cave of the Cradle).

Seleucia is mentioned in the New Testament as the port from which Paul and Barnabas set sail for Cyprus on their first missionary journey.