Giresun Castle is a fortress built in the 2nd century BC in what is now

Giresun Province Giresun Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Its adjacent provinces are Trabzon to the east, Gümüşhane to the southeast, Erzincan to the south, Sivas to the southwest, and Ordu to the west. Its license-plate cod ...

, Turkey.

History

Giresun Castle was built on the order of

Pharnaces I of Pontus Pharnaces I ( el, Φαρνάκης; lived 2nd century BC), fifth king of Pontus, was of Persian and Greek ancestry. He was the son of King Mithridates III of Pontus and his wife Laodice, whom he succeeded on the throne. Pharnaces had two sibling ...

(king of

Kingdom of Pontus Pontus ( grc-gre, Πόντος ) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty (of Persian origin), which possibly may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemeni ...

and son of

Mithridates III of Pontus Mithridates III ( el, Mιθριδάτης) was the fourth king of Pontus, son of Mithridates II of Pontus and Laodice. Mithridates had two sisters: Laodice III, the first wife of the Seleucid King Antiochus III the Great, and Laodice of Pontus ...

). Then, city was named "Farnakyas". Afterwards, the

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 ...

invaded the city (63 BCE) and the city took back the name Kerasus or Cerasus (the name was used since ancient times. Over time, it changed to Giresun).

Location

Giresun Castle is located on top of hill at the center of

(

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 ...

). The castle overlooks the coast so people can see Giresun Island (one of the two islands in Black Sea).

Transportation

Going to Giresun Castle is very convenient. It is possible to go to Giresun Castle on foot from the city center. It takes about thirty minutes. On the other hand, there are mini buses from different several locations to the castle.

Facilities

Entry is free. At the highest point of the castle, there is the tomb of Atatürk’s personal guard,

Topal Osman Hacı Topal Osman Ağa (1883 – 2 April 1923) was a Turkish officer, a militia leader of the National Forces, a volunteer regiment commander of the Turkish army during the Turkish War of Independence who eventually rose to the rank of lieuten ...

. On the northern side, there is the Martyr's Cemetery and the tomb of Kurbande, a follower of Haci Bektash Veli. Giresun Museum is about ten minutes away by car.

References

{{coord missing, Turkey Castles in Turkey 2nd-century establishments Buildings and structures in Giresun Province