Cnidus

A Hellenistic city located on extreme south-west end of the Anatolia, noted as one of the ports Paul and his Roman keepers passed on their journey to Rome. Buffeted by the northerly winds infamous during the winter seasons, they were then blown south towards the island of Crete where they made safe in Salome (Acts 27:7 - "We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone"). It is not clear from the text if they actually made land fall in Cnidus itself. It seemed likely they did not, but having gotten to that point they were swept south by the northerlies. If they did, they probably would have thought it wiser—with the difficulties they had already experienced since leaving Myra—to winter over there instead of continuing on as they did.

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The city is identified with a site in modern Tekir. The ancient port was itself built partly on the mainland and partly on an offshore island with a causeway commuting between them. This resulted in the city having two harbours, each enclosed by a strong mole that would have provided shelter, e.g., for Paul and his party for the winter.

The two harbours and the causeway

Read about Cnidus in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (now in the public domain).