Yılankale ( in Turkish) is a late 12th–13th century Armenian castle in Adana Province of Turkey. It is known in
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
hill castle
A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles a ...
, Yılankale is located on a rocky hill overlooking the east bank of the Ceyhan River, and the Bronze and Iron Age site of Sirkeli Höyük, six kilometers west of the town of Ceyhan. The building is locally known as the home of Shahmaran, a mythical creature half woman and half snake.
Architecture
The walls, as well as the numerous horseshoe-shaped towers and vaulted chambers, are built with beautifully cut rusticated masonry and are carefully adapted to the coiling outcrop of limestone to create three baileys. The archaeological and historical assessment of this castle published in 1987 (with a scaled plan) describes each unit in detail. In the upper bailey is an Armenian chapel with its apse and north wall preserved. The assumption that the relief of a seated king with two rampant lions in the gatehouse door depicts King Levon I (confirming the conclusion that he was the castle's early 13th-c. founder), was convincingly challenged by both iconographic and archaeological evidence, which shows that the relief portrays either Kings Het'um I (1226–70) or Het'um II (1289–1307). The castle was abandoned during the reign of the Ramadanids in the mid-14th century.
It has been described as the "most perfectly preserved Armenian castle" of the
Çukurova
Çukurova (), or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Anatolia. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Os ...
( Cilicia) region. The castle is open to the public and was renovated in summer of 2014.
History
In late 19th century, the inhabitants of Yılankale were Nogai immigrants from the
Crimean War
The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
.
Gallery
File:Yilankale by drone.jpg, An aerial view of the castle
File:Yilankale1.jpg
File:Snake Castle - Yılankale 2662.jpg
File:Snake Castle - Yılankale 2678.jpg
File:Snake Castle - Yılankale 2739.jpg