Meydan Castle

Meydan Castle, locally known as Meydankale or Meydan Kalesi, lies on a spur north of the village of İmamlı, in the province of Mersin in Turkey. It is not to be confused with its namesake, which is an Armenian castle up in the Taurus mountains far away to the northeast.

Meydan Castle was probably more of a fortified settlement or a fortress than a castle. Based on its architecture, it dates back to the times of the Seleucid Empire (312 BC-63 BC). It was rebuilt and inhabited in later eras also. However, neither its Hellenistic name nor its Roman name are known. Nothing is known about its history.

It was built at the corner of a gently sloping plateau, limited by a canyon on its north and northeast sides and a slope on its west side. Below the slope runs the ancient road which it controlled, between the Mediterranean Sea and the ancient sister cities of Dioceasarea and Olba (now the village of Uzuncaburç). The corner was protected by a long wall. On the site are ruins of an observation tower at the highest point of the corner, bastions, rooms, cisterns, and a necropolis. Most of the structures are built out of polygonal masonry, as was typical for the Seleucids, with bossage used in later repairs and additions.

The site of Meydan is quite stretched out and much overgrown with small trees and prickly bushes. Together with the numerous cisterns, whose openings are often hidden by the bushes, this makes exploring the site a bit tricky. So be careful.

Meydan Castle is freely accessible. You will, however, first have to drive over a small unpaved road until you get to the barnyard entrance of a small farm. Park outside and ask the farmer for permission to cross his yard to a small gate next to his property. From there you can walk to the ruins in just a couple of minutes, although there is no signed path. I loved the beautiful polygonal masonry.

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