Anavarza Castle
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Entrance Fee - NONE Getting There - About 90 minutes from Incirlik. This is a self guided hike with Outdoor Rec. Anavarza 37o 15’ 20” N 35o 54’ 23” E Physical Difficulty - HARD - Steep inclines, loose rocky footing, climbing Castle over rocks without guardrails. Anavarza is one of the most difficult hikes offered by Out- door Recreation because of its location on a steep cliff. It is also one of the most intact castles with awe-inspiring views of cows and sheep grazing among the Roman ruins in the surrounding ancient city and farm lands below the Byzantine castle. If going on your own, be sure to make a rest room stop at one of the gas stations along the way before you arrive at Anavarza castle. There are no bathrooms, restaurants or any amenities near by. Just you, the wilderness, and an old Turkish gentleman who serves çay (tea) for 1 TL when you finish your hike. Wear a good pair of walking shoes or hiking boots as it’s 425 steps up steep inclines and loose rocky terrain to reach the castle. There are no guide rails or safety precau- tions. Once you get to the top the castle is large and there are lots of interesting things to explore. Among the castle ruins you can find ancient texts and a fresco. Outdoor Recreation 676-6044 39fss-odr.blogspot.com History of Anavarza Castle From Turkey Ministry of Culture & Tourism Website http://www.kultur.gov.tr/EN/ belge/2-20200/anavarza.html “Anavarza was known as Cae- sarea or Anazarbus during the times of the Roman Empire is 28 km to the south of the Ko- zan District of the Adana prov- ince. The small village built just outside the antique city walls is Dilekkaya. Anavarza was named Cae- sarea by Emperor Augustus who visited the city in 19 B.C. and it started to be known as “Caesarea near Anazarbus.” In 206 AD Anavarza, like other Cilician cities was captured by the Sasani King Shapur. Anavarza was destroyed by Balbinos of Isaura in the 4th century A.D became capital of Cilicia Secunda (Cilicia of the Plain) which was established during the reign of Theodosius II. The city was badly hit with an earthquake in 525 and was later restored by the Emperor Justinianus and renamed Jus- tiniopolis. In 561 it experienced a second earthquake disaster and in the 6th century was hit with a major plague epidemic. During the chaotic centuries which followed the rise of the Islam, Anazarbus remained as a buffer zone between the Arabs and the Byzantines and frequently changed hands between the two sides. In 796 Harun el Reşid re-built the city and the Ca- liph Mutacvakil (846-861) rebuilt the Sis castle and carried out active work at Anazarbus. His name is mentioned in an inscrip- tion piece in Kufi language found at the ruins of tower located outside the west Photos by Fatma Yoksuloglu © gate. In the 10th century 39fss.com Anavarza Castle when Aynı Zarba was once more on the brink of ruin, Hamdanid al-Dawla turned it into a fortified settlement by spending the tremendous sum of three million dirham. The city then became the focus of interest of the Byzantines again and during the 964 campaign which ended in victory, Nicephorus Phocas took over Anavarza along with several important fortifications including Tarsus and Mopsuhestia. In the 11th century, the Armenians whose capital was conquered by Alpaslan were driven towards southwest under the pressure of the Seljuk Turks and establish a kingdom in the Taurus region. Later on, they slowly pro- gressed towards the Cilician plain and there chose Anazarbus as their capital until the year 1100. Except a gap of 7 years, when the Byzantines again gained control under the rule of John Commeneus between 1137-1144 the city remained as a capital for almost for a whole century. In 1184 Tarsus and later Sis became the capital. Despite the fact that Anazarbus remained as an important fortification, the city which was built lower down, on the flat plan eventually started to be destroyed. It was finally totally ruined when the Memlüks destroyed the Little Armenian Kingdom in 1375 and this ancient settlement has never been used again since. Architecture “The ruins in Anavarza consist of a 1500 metre long city wall with 20 bastions, four entrances, a colonnaded street, and ruins of a bath house and a church. Important works also include the theatre and the sta- dium outside the city walls, aqueducts, rock tombs, the necropolises in the west- ern side of the city, the antique road which was constructed by splitting the rock mass and the pooled mosaics the sea goddess Thetas from the 3rd century AD. The vic- tory arc with three entrances, which is the only example of its kind in the Adana re- gion and the castle from the middle ages on the hill which rises like an island in the centre of the plain. Photo by Fatma Yoksuloglu © Anavarza has witnessed numerous earthquakes, including the severe earth- quake of 1945, but the Victory Arch managed to remain standing. It is a three-arched passage with six Corinthian column capitals from black granite on its south facade. There are statue niches on both sides of the main arch on the northern facade. The castle can be defined in three sections. The barracks section including the first wall and a church; a three storey tower built on the flat rock between the two walls; the second wall and an adjacent complex of rooms it, storage areas and water tanks it encloses.” Photographs courtesy of Fatma Yoksuloglu of the Incirlik Photo Hunters. facebook.com/PhotoHuntersIncirlik Outdoor Recreation 676-6044 39fss-odr.blogspot.com.