Anamur Mamure (Mamuriye) Castle
The Mamure Castle, which is considered the symbol of Anamur, is located on the highway to Mersin, on the sea side and at a distance of 8 km. from the centre of Anamur.
The castle was built by the Romans during the 3rd century A.D., but it was restored many times during its long history. That is why it has survived to our day in a rather good state of preservation. The castle, which was built with a kidney shaped plan, so as to better adapt to the area’s natural features, is made up of two parts. It has two rows of walls. It has 39 bastions, four of which are quite large. At the centre of the great bastion on the eastern side of the castle towards the sea, there is a tower with a height of 22 metres. On the marble inscription of the tower it is written that Karamanoğlu İbrahim Bey had the castle restored. During this restoration (1300-1308) a mosque was added to the inner part of the castle. The mosque’s entrance has a rather flat stone arch. The building has a central dome and its walls are made of stone and brick.
On the opposite side of the road there is a Turkish bath. Even though the entrance to the bath has collapsed, the cold, warm and hot sections of the bath are still standing. The bath is small and its walls are made of irregularly shaped stones with wooden horizontal beams. In the inside, the transition between walls and domes was undertaken by means of triangular pendentives. It is known that the walls were decorated, but these decorations have disappeared during repair work.
It is possible to climb up to the bastions and walk along the walls, while visiting the castle.
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