Çandır Castle

Çandır Castle is a medieval castle in Mersin Province, Turkey.

Geography
The castle is in the Toros Mountains at 37.01667°N, 34.61667°W. It is situated to the east of Ayvagediği and Gözne and to the north of Mersin. The distance to Mersin is about 40 km. The castle shares the same name with a village lying to the south of the castle. (see Çandır, Mersin). It is built on a mesa (tableland). The altitude of the mesa is 1125 m. Its height with respect to surrounding is about 50 m and the only access to the mountain is from a narrow tunnel which makes the mesa an ideal for place for a castle.

History
Most historians believe that the castle may be the castle of Baberon which is mention in conjunction with Byzantine Emperor Zeno in the 5th century. Zeno who was an Isaurian built the castle and spent a part of refuge years in the castle. But the castle rose to prominence during the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in the 12th and 13th centuries. It controlled two roads to Central Anatolia.

The castle
The only entrance to castle is via a narrow tunnel of 20 steps and an outside ladder of 140 steps. In parallel to ladder there is an inclined plane which was probably used for haulage. The castle is large, but most of the walls as well as the buildings are in ruins, and exact area is not known. Since it is practically impossible to climb the walls there are no bastions. But a part of the two storey church at the south survives.

Trivia
Now a small house has been built in the castle for the fire warden appointed by the Ministry of Forestry