Meydankale is the archaeological site of a ruined castle in

Mersin Province Mersin Province ( tr, ), formerly İçel Province ( tr, ), is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is Mersin, which is composed of fo ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Geography

Meydankale is situated between the İmamlı and Yenibahçe villages in the rural area of

Silifke Silifke ( grc-gre, Σελεύκεια, ''Seleukeia'', la, Seleucia ad Calycadnum) is a town and district in south-central Mersin Province, Turkey, west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of Çukurova. Silifke is near the Mediterranean coas ...

district. In the antiquity this region was called

Cilicia Trachaea Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coas ...

(Rugged Cilicia). Meydankale is to the north of Silifke and the Turkish state highway D.400. It can be reached via a road from

Atakent Atakent is a town in Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography Atakent is a Mediterranean coastal town in Silifke district which itself is a part of Mersin Province. Alluvial plains of Silifke lie in the west of the town and hilly coastline is ...

which is on D-400. The distance from Meydankale to Silifke is and to

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and district governorates: Akdeniz, Mezitl ...

is .

History

The settlement dates back to

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium i ...

era ( Seleucid Empire). But it was rebuilt and inhabited during the later eras. Neither Hellenistic nor the Roman name of the settlement is known. Meydankale is a Turkish name.Mersin Ören Yerleri, Mersin Valiliği, İstanbul, 2009, p.240

Ruins

Meydankale is a fort situated on a hill which oversees the mid portion of the road from the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

coast to the ancient city of

Uzuncaburç Uzuncaburç is a town in Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography Uzuncaburç is in the rural area of Silifke district which is a part of Mersin Province. It is located in the valleys of Toros Mountains at the north of Silifke with an altitude of . ...

, (ancient Diokaesareia). A deep canyon is to the north of the fort. There are ruins of observation towers, bastions, cisterns a necropolis in the fort. There is also a staircase to the river at the east of the fort. The main building material is polygonal stones typical of Seleucid masonry.

Bossage Bossage is uncut stone that is laid in place in a building, projecting outward from the building, to later be carved into decorative moldings, capitals, arms, etc. Bossages are also rustic work, consisting of stones which seem to advance beyond t ...

had been used in later architecture.

References

{{Authority control Silifke District Ruined castles in Turkey Castles in Mersin Province Archaeological sites in Mersin Province, Turkey Olba territorium Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey