Kara Castle

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Kara Castle from the west

Kara Castle (Turkish: Kara Kalesi) is a castle ruin in Mersin Province, Turkey. Actually its name was Corycus Castle. The ancient town Corycus had two castles; one on the island facing the town and one on the land. So its customary to call the land castle Kara Castle (meaning ‘’land Castle’’ in Turkish).The castle is at 36°27′46″N 34°09′03″E / 36.46278°N 34.15083°E / 36.46278; 34.15083. Its distance to Erdemli is 22 kilometres (14 mi) and to Mersin is 59 kilometres (37 mi).

History

Kara Castle was built in the ancient ages. But it was rebuilt by the

Third crusade
. During the civil war in the
Bayazit I and Cem Sultan, the castle hosted Cem Sultan before Cem Sultan fled from the Ottoman Empire to Italy
.

The castle

Although there are additions during the Armenian Kingdom, spolia from the earlier cultures were used and the masonry is not typical of Armenians.

Unesco World Heritage page, during the wars and the pirate assault, a chain between the Kara Castle and the Kızkalesi Castle in the island was pulled up, preventing enemy ships from entering the port.[3]

References