HISTORIC CANNONBALL STOLEN FROM SOUTHERN CASTLE
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Feb 9 2015
MERSÄ°N – Dogan News Agency
The cannonball in the entrance of the 1,500-year-old Mamure Castle
in the southern province of Mersin has been stolen. The castle was
listed on the UNESCO Temporary World Heritage List in 2012.
Officials, seeing that the cannonball, which had been there for
centuries, was not in its place informed the gendarmerie and the
museum directorate. The gendarmerie has launched an investigation
into the event.
The Anamur District Museum Director Murat Kalas told the gendarmerie
the stolen cannonball had not been registered in the inventory list
of the museum. Scrap dealers and illegal antique dealers are being
investigated.
Mamure Castle
The Mamure Castle is one of the most well-preserved medieval castles
in the Mediterranean. It was built by the rulers of the Armenian
Kingdom of Cilicia on the foundations of a fourth-century Roman
castle. The castle has a unique medieval fortification with the
characteristics of various armies, including the Romans, Byzantines,
Seljuks, Karamanogulları and Ottomans. Covering an area of 3,500
square meters, the castle is one of the largest castles in Turkey.
The castle has a magnificent location for defense, overlooking
the sea around the region. In 1469, the castle was annexed by the
Ottoman Empire. It was subsequently repaired in the 15th, 16th and
18th centuries and a part of the castle was used as a caravanserai
(a resting place for travelers).
The western courtyard contains a small complex with a single-minaret
mosque and a ruined Turkish bath. The southern courtyard has the
remains of a lighthouse.
February/09/2015