On my last trip to Gaziantep in the South of Turkey to give training with Gap Consulting, we flew over the city as we came into land on a clear night. Down below, illuminated in a bright orange light, was the round fortress that once stood guard over Gaziantep from invaders.
To visit the fortress of Gaziantep was not on my timetable, nor in fact any sightseeing trip, but I found that I had a spare day with no training. A Sunday, with nothing to do, so I decided to go for a walk, just around the shops near to my hotel.
It surprised me that even though it was 11am, there were very few shoppers, and very few shops open, so I just walked and walked, taking in the sights, sounds and smells.
hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil, sit over a café in Gaziantep
I then noticed the fort in the distance, and aimed myself towards it, keeping track of the landmarks, so that I could find my way back to the hotel.
Turning a corner, there in front of me was the fort, sitting on top of a hill. I could see visitors on the battlements, and walking into the fort through a dark doorway entrance.
The Fortress of Gaziantep
I followed the road around the base of the hill and fort passing a mosque with a beautifully decorated minaret, until I came to the entrance to Gaziantep Fortress. It is obvious that in the near future, visitors will have to pay to gain entrance to the Fort, as they are building a visitor center and ticket booths, rebuilding the entrance, but today it was free.
A mosque with a beautifully decorated minaret at the base of the Fortress of Gaziantep
Perhaps the site of a drawbridge of the Fortress of Gaziantep
Once passing the yet to be completed visitor entrance to the Fortress, I passed through a stone gateway and over what would have been a drawbridge to climb a steep set of stairs to the doorway into a dark corridor leading up and into the Fort its’ self.
The dark entrance and steep interior climb of the Fortress of Gaziantep
Once into the sunlight within the walls of the Fortress of Gaziantep, it is obvious that there is a lot of restoration work being undertaken, with one area covered by a corrugated steel roof. But there was not much to see, just an empty interior, with what appears to be the foundations of what would have been buildings.
Views of the interior of the Fortress of Gaziantep
Old guns, from what year I have know idea, were on display, and from the Fort walls, looking sometimes through cuttings/windows in the thick stonework, the views over Gaziantep were spectacular, the flat roofs of the houses and buildings, some of the old historical areas, and the newer buildings, plus the big football ground. I think there was a match on, and Gaziantep lost. The view also showed where some of the pollution was coming from. (click to read previous article).
Views from the walls of the Fortress of Gaziantep
The History of Gaziantep Fort
The history of the site may be older than 6,000 years, but the first fortress of Gaziantep, having several towers but none to be seen today, was believed to have been built in the 3rd Century BC by the Romans.
In the 6th Century, the Fortress was repaired and expanded by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, with more towers added.
Further repairs were undertaken by the Egyptian Sultan Kayitbay (1481), and by Sultan Sulieman in the Ottoman period of 1557. Later additional buildings and towers were added by Melik Sahil Ahmet.
The Fort of Gaziantep has been used for defense, even up to and including Turkey’s War of Independence.