Gözne Castle

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

Geography
The castle is in the Toros Mountains at 36.99583°N, 34.57778°W. It is situated to the south of Gözne town. It is accessible only from the north i.e. Gözne. Its distance to Mersin is 30 km The road to the castle is an all seasons open road. The altitude of the castle is 1120 m. The castle is open to visits.

History
According to the published archaeological description and plan of this site, this “castle” was probably a fortified estate house. It was built with distinctive Armenian masonry between the 12th and 14th centuries. It also protected a strategic route which linked the Mediterranean coast to Çandır Castle and Lampron, the main seats of Het'umid power in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.

The buildings
This site consists of two fortified chambers without connecting masonry walls. The one at the east is a building with a vaulted rectangular hall, a defensive doorway, four towers, five extremely narrow windows, and a single embrasured loophole. The one at the west is a two-story hexagonal tower-donjon with two doors and three windows. Projecting corbels at the top once supported fighting platforms. Recently, a picnic area was established to the north of the castle. An extensive photographic survey and plan of Gözne Castle was made in 1979.