#Anamur #Mamure #Castle.
It is one of the Turkish castles that have survived to the present day on the Mediterranean coastline. Built on high cliffs and plains, Mamure Castle was built on ancient foundations like many Anatolian castles. It has not been determined exactly when and by whom the ancient foundations made of large cut stones were built. The castle consists of three parts: the inner courtyard in the east, separated by high walls, the outer castle in the west and the inner castle built on the rocks to the south of them.
The castle, which has 39 towers, water cisterns, a mosque and a bath outside, is surrounded by a 10-meter-wide defensive ditch. The lower parts of the castle walls are wide. The upper parts narrow upwards. Various stones and Khorasan mortar were used while the walls and bastions were being built. Cut stone was used in the arches of the entrance doors and some windows and in the corners of the walls. Brick was used in repairs and additions made in later periods. There are interconnected galleries within the double-storey castle walls. The bastions and viewing points on the upper floor can be reached by stairs. Starting from the thick and high watchtower, called the main castle, on the south side of the castle, there is the main castle in circular and four-corner forms, and the Lighthouse Tower, which has been completely destroyed. In the outer castle, there is a centrally planned, single-domed mosque and its fountain, warehouses, cisterns and structures that are likely to be the settlements of soldiers. In some publications, the tomb of Hüseyin Gazi is mentioned in the castle. The first construction of the mosque, which carries the classical elements of 16th century Ottoman architecture, belongs to the Karamanoğulları Period.
The entrance used today is not the main entrance of the castle. The main entrance gate is in the north of the inner courtyard, with a rectangular plan, between two towers. It has six lines of inscription on it. In the inscription, it is summarized as “Sultan İbrahim, son of Karamanoğlu Alaaddinoğlu Mehmet, built it. The town of Mamure and its castle is the corner that is helped for the war. The protected settlement became complete with his help for jihad as a gift in the way of Allah. Thank God for the vigilance and showing the right path from His blessings. This date was written in 854 in the month of Mükerrem Shawwal.” is called. The bridge connecting the entrance gate to the outside and providing the entrance to the castle from the ditch does not exist today.
The water requirement of the castle is provided by the waterway, which is located at the north-east of the main entrance gate, where the bastion is, and provides the passage with two pointed arches on the ditch. In case the castle was besieged, the water requirement was also supplied from the cisterns located in different parts of the castle. Castle and its surroundings İ.S. It is estimated that it was a Roman settlement of little importance in the 3rd and 4th centuries. To the north of the castle are the remains of a bathhouse. As a result of the salvage excavations carried out by the Anamur Museum Directorate in 1988; The rooms, which were built of rubble stone, with Khorasan mortar between them, with mosaic paved floors, which are thought to be baths and residences, were unearthed. These remains are thought to belong to the Rigmonai Ancient City. During the salvage excavation, copious amounts of pottery from the Late Roman Period were found.
Upon the occupation and destruction of Anamur and Taşeli by the Christians, Karamanoğlu Mahmut Bey (1300-1308) defeated the enemy with his army, captured the castle, demolished the churches, built a mosque, prospered the castle and named it Mamuriye. There are documents that the castle was later repaired in the middle of the 16th century and at the end of the 18th century and new additions were made to the castle. Finally, repairs were made by the General Directorate of Foundations in the 1960s. The craftsmanship and construction technique of the castle reminds Alanya Castle.
Location: Bozdoğan Neighborhood Cariklar Town Anamur / Mersin
3VJV+FR Anamur, Mersin
goo.gl/maps/juk8rJqfRFSpxhaa6
Source: Turkish Culture Portal: www.kulturportali.gov.tr/turk...
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Mesut AKCAN
akcansoft.blogspot.com