Silifke Castle

It is 25 km far away from Kızkalesi. It was built on a hill on the west side of the city in an oval plan. In the Classical era there was a temple built for the goddess Athena Kanetis in the middle of Kokysionoros settlement. The settelement which appeared to belong to the Hellenic or early Roman period according to the main determinations was fertified by the Byzantians against Arabian invasions in the 7th century. The castle lived the ages of Armenian Korykos Kingdom, Franks, Anatolian Seljuk’s, Karamanoğulları and Ottoman times. The castle was investigated by the explorer Captain Beaufort and V. Langlois in 19th Century. Evliya Çelebi (Famous Turkish explorer) has noted down that the castle had 23 towers, 1 mosque inside (belonging to Sultan Beyazid II) and has approximately 60 houses. But most of the towers are broken down at present time so you can only see some of them. A security corridor is established with the second wall that is built within the 1st wall at the main entrance. Not enough archeological excavations and scientific studies were carried out in the castle. The main structures that are seen in the castle are arched galleries, water cisterns and storages. At the present time the castle is in a citadel with no remnants of the walls. .