Amasra Fortress or Amasra Castle is located in the

Amasra Amasra (from Greek language, Greek Amastris Ἄμαστρις, ''gen''. Ἀμάστριδος) is a small Black Sea port town in the Bartın Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Amasra District.Bartın Bartın is a city in northern Turkey, near the Black Sea. It is the seat of Bartın Province and Bartın District.Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

coast of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It was built by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and later restored by the Byzantines,

Genoese Genoese, Genovese, or Genoan may refer to: * a person from modern Genoa * a person from the Republic of Genoa (–1805), a former state in Liguria * Genoese dialect, a dialect of the Ligurian language * Ligurian language, a Romance language of whi ...

and

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

. It consists of two parts: Sormagir Castle and Zindan Castle. It was added to the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in 2020. Amasra Fortress consists of two main masses which are connected by a bridge called the Boztepe Arch. The fortress was used extensively during the Genoese period and had serious repairs done in the 14th and 15th centuries. The length of the eastern walls of the fortress between the northeast and southeast is 65 meters, the length of the southern walls with 8 bastions is 300 meters, and the length of the northern walls from the Kemere Bridge, most of which have been destroyed, is 200 meters.Amasra Kalesi - Bartın
/ref> Since the north and northwest of Sormagir Castle descend into the sea in a very steep cliff, no walls were built here. Most of the walls surrounding the east, northeast and west have been destroyed, and a 50-meter part of the west walls adjacent to the gate is still standing. There are tower gaps, interior divisions, and coats of arms of the Genoese placed in certain places on the walls. Figures such as

Eros Eros (, ; ) is the Greek god of love and sex. The Romans referred to him as Cupid or Amor. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is the child of Aphrodite. He is usually presented as a handsome young ma ...

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

, an

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

, and ox head are also still preserved.

Gallery

File:Amasra 189.JPG File:Amasra 193.JPG File:Amasra 81.JPG, Kemere Bridge File:Amasra 83.JPG, Fortress gate File:Houses in Amasra.JPG File:Amasra shore.JPG

References

{{coord, 41.7504, 32.3846, type:landmark_region:TR, display=title Castles in Turkey Forts in Turkey Roman fortifications Genoese colonies Ottoman fortifications Black Sea Amasra Bartın