Afyonkarahisar Kalesi

Afyonkarahisar Castle sits on top of the black rock that gave the city its name, and from almost any corner of the city it dominates the skyline. The hill is a volcanic rock mass that rises about 226 metres above the surrounding plain. The Kültür Portalı describes the castle as a natural rock rising among the old houses of Afyonkarahisar. The dark colour of the rock and the fortress on top of it are the origin of the name Karahisar, the black fortress. The history of the castle reaches back to the Hittite period. According to the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the rock was used as a fortified position around 1350 BC during the Arzawa campaign of the Hittite king Mursili II and was given the name Hapanuva. Sources explain this name as "high hill". On the summit there are traces of the Phrygians, who lived in Anatolia between 1200 and 700 BC. The same sources mention rock-cut cult areas and four large cisterns there. In the Roman and Byzantine periods walls were built on top of the rock, and the hill took on its present appearance as a castle. In the Byzantine era the place was known as Akroinon. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam notes that the Akroinon fortress mentioned in Byzantine sources is thought to be this rock. According to English Wikipedia, a major pitched battle was fought in front of the fortress in 740 between the Byzantine army and Umayyad forces. Folk tradition holds that Seyyid Battal Gazi, a hero of later epic tales, also fell in front of the castle in this battle. An inscription on the nearby Altıgöz Bridge shows that the town passed into Turkish hands in the early 13th century. In the Seljuk period the castle became important as the place where the state treasury was kept. Under Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I, the architect Bedrettin Gevhertaş, who was the castle warden, repaired the walls in 1235. In the same period a small masjid and a palace beside it were built inside the castle. Turkish Wikipedia relates that because the treasury was kept here the castle was also called Hisar-ı Devlet, the fortress of the state. The name of the Seljuk vizier Sahip Ata Fahreddin Ali led to the town being known as Karahisar-ı Sahip. In the Ottoman period, in 1573, Mahmut Bey repaired the bastions, cisterns and tower on the order of Selim II. In the 17th century Evliya Çelebi wrote that the castle had about two hundred guards and a dungeon where political prisoners were held. After the Tanzimat reforms the castle slowly lost its military importance. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam also describes how the town grew together with the castle. Until the middle of the 12th century the settlement lay inside the castle, and in the 13th century it spread to the southwestern foot of the rock. In the following centuries new neighbourhoods were founded to the south and east of the castle. Today the Kalealtı area at the foot of the castle, with its bay-windowed houses and wooden shutters, is one of the best preserved parts of this old fabric. The castle can be reached on foot from the city centre; Afyonkarahisar Municipality notes that the way is short and marked with signposts. You climb to the summit by stone-stepped stairs built into the slope of the rock. The Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism records that the walls have been repaired and the access stairs renewed. The climb is steep and long, so comfortable shoes and a bottle of water are a good idea. In summer there is no shade on the rock at midday; going up early in the morning or in the late afternoon is both cooler and better for the light. At the top, as you pass among the remains of the walls, look at the cisterns cut into the rock and the foundations of old buildings. From the summit you see the city spreading over the plain, its domes and minarets, and the hills stretching away towards the Phrygian highlands. The wind can be strong on the summit, so keep away from unrailed edges when you climb with children. For visiting conditions and any closures for maintenance, check the current information with the provincial culture and tourism directorate or the municipality. After coming down, wandering through the old streets at the foot of the castle is the best way to read the castle together with the city. The Victory Museum and Anıtpark are within a short walk.