Mut Castle

Inner castle

Ground plan of the castle

Mut Castle is a castle in Mut, Mersin Province, Turkey.

Geography

The castle is in mid town at about 36°38′40″N 33°26′02″E. Laal Pasha Mosque is to the east and intercity bus terminal is to the north east. Highway D.715 which connects Mersin to Karaman and Konya is at east and north of the castle at a distance of about 200 metres (660 ft).

History

The neighbourhood surrounding the castle during the Roman Empire was known as Claudiupolis. According to unconfirmed reports Claudiupolis may be even older than the Roman Empire (up to Hittites). Although the building date of the castle is unknown, it is known that the castle had been used during the Byzantine Empire period. In 1228 (?) the Karamanids (a Turkmen dynasty which controlled a part of Anatolia between the 13th and 15th centuries.) captured the castle and rebuilt it. (Mut was frequently used as a co-capital of Karamanids). In 1473, the castle was captured by the Ottoman Empire. During the reign of the Ottoman sultan Ahmet I (1603-1617) the castle was renovated .

Technical details

The plan of the 3,900 square metres (42,000 sq ft) castle is almost square. There are 9 bastions around the fortifications and a small cylindirical inner castle (Turkish language: içkale) within the main castle. Face stone and rubble stone were used in the construction.