Gözne Castle

Gözne Castle
Mersin Province, Turkey
East building
Gözne Castle
Coordinates	36°59′45″N 34°34′40″E / 36.9958333°N 34.5777778°E
Type	Castle
Site information
Controlled by	Ministry of Culture
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Most of east building still standing.
Site history
Built by	Byzantine Empire
Demolished	Part of it

Gözne Castle is a medieval castle in Mersin Province, Turkey.

Geography

The castle is in the Toros Mountains at 36°59′45″N 34°34′40″E / 36.99583°N 34.57778°E. It is situted to the south of Gözne town. It is accessible only from the north i.e. Gözne. Its distance to Mersin is 30 kilometres (19 mi) The road to the castle is an all seasons open road. The altitude of the castle is 1,120 metres (3,670 ft). The castle is open to visits.

History

The castle was built (or rebuilt ) during the late Byzantine era. It was built to protect the road from the Mediterranean Sea coast to the important Çandır Castle (Baberon) which is situated about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) birds flight to east.

The buildings

There are two buildings in the castle. The one at the east is an rectangular building with an elevated door, four bastions and five windows. The one at the west is a two storey irregular hexagonal building with two doors and three windows.^[1] Recently, a picnic are has been established to the north of the castle.

References

1. Mersin Ören Yerleri, Mersin Valiliği, İstanbul, 2009, ISBN 978 605 4196 07 4 p.39