Gökvelioğlu Kalesi
| Gökvelioğlu Kalesi | ||
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 Gökvelioğlu Kalesi from the south, left in front lower castle, right upper castle |
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| Alternative name (s): | Vaner, vanerium | |
| Creation time : | Byzantine period | |
| Castle type : | Spurburg | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Construction: | House stones, bosses | |
| Place: | Güveloğlu | |
| Geographical location | 36 ° 50 ′ 41 ″ N , 35 ° 36 ′ 30 ″ E | |
| Height: | 215 m | |
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Gökvelioğlu Kalesi (presumably Armenian Vaner , Latin Vanerium) is a ruined castle from Byzantine times in Cilicia , in the district of Yüreğir in the Turkish province of Adana .
location
The castle lies on a spur at the southern end of the Celebinur mountain range (also Nurdağı) in the Çukurova plain. This stretches from Yılankale near Ceyhan on the eastern bank of the Ceyhan River to the south into the plain of Yüreğir (Yüreğir Ovası) . From the castle there is a clear view over this plain to the west beyond Adana and to the south over the further course of the Ceyhan to the estuary delta. Güveloğlu is located at the western foot of the mountain spur . Gökvelioğlu Kalesi is located on the road from Yumurtalık to Yakapınar , which corresponds to the historical connection from Aigeai (Ayas) to Mopsuestia (Misis). The fortress thus controlled both this road and the course of the river and large parts of the coastal plain.
Emergence
Recognizable by the way it was built, the castle was built in two periods. The second, made almost entirely of bosses , can be classified in the early 13th century. Dating is problematic in the first period, as the construction with small house stones was still in use in Armenian buildings until the 12th century. The old name of the castle is not known, Hansgerd Hellenkemper suspects that it is the small Armenian Vaner. Vaner is mentioned in a fiefdom list from the time of Leon II as well as in a document with which Leon transferred the town of Vanerium with its surroundings and a port to the Johannites . In 1337 the castle, along with others, including Lajazzo , was handed over to the Mamluk Sultan Malik-an-Nasir . The Mamluk name is not known, nor is the further history of the building.
description
The castle complex consists of an upper and a lower castle, between which there is a height difference of about 80 meters and which are only connected by a steep rocky path. The upper castle in the north has a partially preserved gate system on the north-western corner. The extensive facility, which can be reached via a ramp, consists of a platform, a small vestibule and a hall with a cross vault . The walls surrounding the interior follow the steep rock faces on all sides. At the south corner there is a round bastion from which the path to the lower castle starts. Inside there are two cisterns and various buildings that cannot be interpreted.
The triangular lower castle is located south of it and has a simple gate in the northeast as access. The boundary on the north side is formed by the towering rock towards the upper castle, the walls on the east and west sides converge to the south on a small spur with an outpost. Inside there is another cistern in the north, the further development is unclear.
Gate of the upper castle
Lower castle
Castle hill with upper castle
literature
- Hansgerd Hellenkemper : Crusader castles in the county of Edessa and in the Kingdom of Lesser Armenia. (= Geographica Historica 1 ) Habelt, Bonn 1976, ISBN 3-7749-1205-X , pp. 165-169
