Samsun Castle

History

The castle was built near the Black Sea coast by Danishmends in 1192 after they were unable to capture the Amisos Castle. The castle with 8 m (26 ft)-high walls hosted hundreds of houses and shops, two masdjids (small mosque) and a mosque commissioned by Hızır Bey, a commander of the Seljuk Empire.

Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi wrote after his visit to Samsun in 1640 in his comprehensive work Seyahatname ("Travelogue") that the castle was strong but damaged. It consisted of walls five thousand steps in length, seventy watchtowers and two thousand battlements. The castle hosted a mosque, a Turkish bath and a small shopping center.

The castle walls on the seaside were reinforced by abutments at every twelve step distance to enable the walls resist the rogue waves of Black Sea. The castle, which underwent repair works from time to time, remained almost intact until the great fire of 1869. After the fire, the landside walls of the castle were demolished in order to make place for the construction to rebuild the city. The castle but the seaside walls and the arsenal disappeared.

During the Second Constitutional Era, Ottoman Ministry of War made a decision to clear off all historical ruins that was approved by Sultan Mehmed V (reigned 1909-1918). The castle's estate was handed over to the Ministry of War. Later, the land was turned over to the Ottoman Ministry of Finance, which sold it at an auction after parcelling.

An inscript, which was once attached above one of the castle gates, is archived at Istanbul University's library today.

Restoration project

In 2008, during the restoration works at the Grand Mosque (Turkish: Büyük Cami), remains of the castle walls were found. Today, only the remains of a 13 m (43 ft)-long castle wall ruin is available. The Board of Reservation of Cultural Heritage in Samsun registered the entire castle walls and put it under protection.

The metropolitan municipality of Samsun reported in January 2015 that plans are made to restore the castle.