Hançerkale Explained

Hançerkale (literally "dagger castle") is the popular name given to a Byzantine observation tower ruin in Mersin Province, Turkey.

Geography

The tower is situated next to a mosque, in Ovacık village of Silifke district. It is north of the Turkish state highway D.400. It is accessible by an all-seasons open road. Its distance to Silifke is and to Mersin is

Building

Although the popular name of the ruin is castle, actually it was a -tall observation tower built in the 6th century.^[1] The walls had been built by polygonal masonry technique. There are reliefs of a Dioskuri helmet, a shield, a sword and Herculus' Club on the southern wall.^[2]

References

http://www.gezi-yorum.org/Turizm-Rehberi/Mersin/Silifke/Hancerkale/2680 Geziyorum
Book: 196 . Mersin: Ören Yerleri, Kaleleri, Müzeleri . 978-605-4196-07-4 . Ekin Grubu (2007, first edition); İl Özel İdaresi (2009 edition) . Istanbul . 805652523 . Turkish . Osman . Arik . Mehmet . Çalışkan . Ayşe . Aydın . Ümit . Aydınoğlu . Filiz . Kerem . Prepared by Filiz Kerem; Photographs by Selami Türk; Graphic design by Tanrtim Sanatlari . ISBN (invalid as printed in first edition) 975-585-787-9 . Mersin: Oren Places, Castles, Museums . First . 2009 . 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140604154220/http://issuu.com/eforweb/docs/mersin?e=1003590/2886104 . 2014-06-04 . live . 2020-08-30 .

36.5167°N 92°W