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Anvarza Castle is an ancient castle in
the castle was used by Mamluks.
The height of the rampart is about . The length of the rampart from north to south is about . There are 20 bastions. The east to west dimensions are much less than the length. The north bailey has not been surveyed. The military quarters are confined to the south and central baileys, which are separated by the Crusader donjon.Adana page
The castle can be visited free of charge.
For photosExtensive photographic survey and plan of Anavarza Castle
* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Adana Province Kozan, Adana Castles in Turkey Tourist attractions in Adana Province
Adana Province
Adana Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey located in central Cilicia. With a population of 2.26 million, it is the sixth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 79% of the r ...
, Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
Geography
The castle lies to the east of Dilekkaya village of Kozan district at . Visitors follow Turkish state highway and the highway to north for and turn to east for . Although the vicinity of the castle isÇukurova
Çukurova () or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Turkey. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Osman ...
plains (Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
of the antiquity) which is almost flat, there is a hill with steep slopes of about high with respect to plains. The castle was built on the hill. The hill is accessible via a path from the south.
History
The castle had been built to control the ancient city with the same name. The remains of the city (which is on the plains) lies between the village and the castle. The bird's flight distance between the remains and the castle is about . During the history the castle had switched hands and partially ruined several times (Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
, Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
, Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...
, Mamluks of Egypt
The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16t ...
etc.). Archaeological evidence indicates that the majority of the fortress is of Armenian construction, including the small basilica of T’oros I (AD 1111) and the chapels. The donjon
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
was built by the Crusaders in the 12th century. Although the city was evacuated in 1274 following an earthquakeCastles pagethe castle was used by Mamluks.
Building
The height of the rampart is about . The length of the rampart from north to south is about . There are 20 bastions. The east to west dimensions are much less than the length. The north bailey has not been surveyed. The military quarters are confined to the south and central baileys, which are separated by the Crusader donjon.See also
Other castles in the region include: *Servantikar
Sarvandikar ( hy, Սարվանդիքար), also spelled ''Sarvanda k'ar'' ( tr, Savranda). It was the Frankish castle of ''Savranda'' and is officially known today as Savranda Kalesi. The site is a medieval castle in the former Armenian Kingdom ...
* Lampron Lampron (; ; ) is a castle near the town of Çamlıyayla in Mersin Province, Turkey. While part of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in the Middle Ages, the castle was known as Lampron and was the ancestral home of the Armenian Hethumid princes. Situa ...
* Yılankale
Yılankale ( Turkish for "Castle of the Snakes" or "Snake Castle") is a late 12th–13th century Armenian castle in Adana Province of Turkey. It is known in Armenian as Levonkla ( "Levon's fortress") after its possible founder—King Leo (Levon) ...
References
External links
For photos
* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Adana Province Kozan, Adana Castles in Turkey Tourist attractions in Adana Province