Bakras Castle

Bakras Castle, perhaps the leading of the beauties waiting to be discovered in this city, amazes those who see its history and its narrations. Bakras Castle is one of the oldest works of Hatay, estimated to have remained in the 10th century. The most well-known of the narrations about the castle is as follows: The King of Ammuri Dakianus, who spent the summer season in the Gulcihan region between Iskenderun-Arsuz, while he was on his way home in Syria from the steep slopes wher the castle is located, his beloved wife falls down from her horse and dies. Dakianus, who wants his and everone’s memory to live forever, built a big castle where the horse stumbled. The first official historical event known about Bakras Castle is that the Crusaders handed over the castle to Salahaddin Eyyubi in 1183. After a while, Eyyubi's commander, Alemüddin Suleddin Suleyman bin Candar, demolished this place in 1191. Upon learning that the castle had been destroyed, the Armenians invaded the area and built today's Bakras Castle. The castle, which has also been the scene of the rivalries between the Memluks and the Ottomans in its thousands of years, was taken by Yavuz Sultan Selim in 1516. After this period, the castle becomes an inner fortress away from the country's borders. The structure, which does not have any strategic significance, is abandoned over time. Bakras Castle, which is considered one of the most visible places of Hatay today, whispers to all its guests the history of Anatolia, Kenan Region and Mesopotamia with the glory of its stance.