Turkey
Mamure Castle
Thirty-nine towers rise where a medieval fortress meets the Mediterranean surf.
Thirty-nine towers rise almost from the waterline, crenellations sharp against the sky, the sea lapping at walls that have stood in one form or another since Roman times. Mamure Castle occupies a strip of coast so narrow the fortress feels built by the sea itself. Walk the ramparts and the drop on one side is salt water; on the other, banana groves.
Mamure Castle near Anamur ranks with the best-preserved medieval fortresses on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. A Roman fortification stood here first; Byzantines, Armenian Cilicia, Seljuks and Karamanid rulers rebuilt and enlarged it into three linked courtyards with a small Seljuk mosque, a moat and thirty-nine towers. Its completeness sets it apart from the ruined Cilician forts along this coast: walls intact, towers standing, ramparts walkable. Anamur around it is Turkey's banana capital, orchards thriving in the microclimate the Taurus creates, and the beaches flanking the castle stay close to empty.
Couple
Exploring a castle this intact, this close to the sea, with almost no one else around feels like having a private monument. Take the sunset on the ramparts with the Mediterranean below.
Family
Children can run between thirty-nine towers, climb to the ramparts and peer into a moat: a castle that rewards imagination, with a beach and banana groves to round out the day.
- The castle's three courtyards are guarded by thirty-nine towers, with the southern walls touching the Mediterranean.
- Romans, Byzantines, Armenian Cilicia, Seljuks and Ottomans all held and rebuilt the fortress.
- Its restored walls, towers and moat make it unusually complete for self-guided exploration.
- In a swell, the sea washes into the lowest archways.
Anamur bananas, grown in the district beside the castle and sold along the road.
Fındık lahmacun, the small Mersin lahmacun on a yeasted dough made with milk and egg.
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