Dağlı Castle () is a castle ruin in

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

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 ...

Geography

The castle is around Dağlı Village of

Erdemli Erdemli is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,279 km2, and its population is 151,928 (2022). It is west of the city of Mersin. Geography Erdemli is located between the districts of Mezitli (to the east) a ...

District at . The distance between Erdemli and the village is and the distance between the castle and

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

is . Although there is a vehicle road to the village, there is no road from the village to the castle. Although a short portion of ancient castle road survives, the castle is accessible only through walking and partial climbing from the village. The elevation of the village is , the elevation of the castle is over , and the total walking track is about .

History

The castle was built during the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and later used by the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

and the

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...

. It probably controlled ancient and medieval caravan routes.

The castle

The castle is on a hill overlooking the Karakız valley. Most of the buildings as well as the walls are in ruins, but a large room known as the ''queen’s room'' survives. There are also two small compartments which are thought to have been toilets and some dark quarters which may have served as dungeons. Next to the main gate there is a

rock relief A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief, relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction ...

showing two soldiers and one pregnant woman. There is also a highly effaced inscription. Although it was thought to be 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 ...

, up to now only a few words could be deciphered. According to Professor Bogos Levon Zekiyan, only four words are readable: ''to son, Armenians, king and date''.Page of Aarchaeology enthusiast

References

External links

For images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dagli Castle Erdemli District Byzantine fortifications in Turkey Ruined castles in Turkey Castles in Mersin Province Archaeological sites in Mersin Province, Turkey Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Turkey