Kızkalesi (castle)

Kızkalesi
Near Kızkalesi, Erdemli Mersin Province
Kızkalesi
Kızkalesi
Type	Fortress
Site information
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Partially standing.
Site history
Built by	Byzantine Empire Cilician Kingdom of Armenia
Materials	Stone

Kızkalesi (Maiden's Castle, also known as Deniz kalesi) is a castle situated on a small island in Mersin Province of Turkey.

Geography

The medieval name of the island was Crambusa. At 36°27′N 34°09′E it is about 300 metres (980 ft) off shore in the Mediterranean Sea. The total area of the island is about 15,000 square metres (160,000 sq ft) and the castle covers most of this area. Kızkalesi, the town facing the island in the main land which shares the same name as the island is 23 kilometres (14 mi) to Erdemli (district center) and 60 kilometres (37 mi) to Mersin (province center).

History

According to Strabon, the island was used by the pirates in the ancient age. But the castle was probably built by Alexios I Komnenos of Byzantine Empire after the First Crusade. It was rebuilt or repaired during the reign of Leo I of Cilician Kingdom of Armenia in 1199. The building material seems to be the stones of a former building. Probably there was an older building in place of Kızkalesi. In the 14th century the Cilician Kingdom was on the verge of collapse and in 1361 Peter I of Cyprus captured the island at the request of the inhabitants. The castle was captured by İbrahim II of Karaman in 1448 and by Gedik Ahmet Pasha of the Ottoman Empire in 1471. (Karamanids was an Anatolian beylik )

Technical details

The total length of the rampart is 192 metres (630 ft).The south and the west walls are perpendicular to each other. The north and east sides are surrounded by a curved rampart. The main gate is on the north side and there is a minor gate and a gallery on the west side. There are 8 bastions each with a unique shape.

Legend of Kızkalesi

According to the legend of Kızkalesi, a fortune teller informs the king that his beautiful daughter will be poisoned by a snake. He adds that even the king is unable to change the fate. Shocked by fortune teller's words, the king tries to change the fate by building a castle in an island where no snakes live. He sends his daughter to live in the castle. But a snake hides in a grape basket sent from the main land and poisons the princess. This legend is not unique to Kızkalesi and some other localities in Turkey share the same story.