Darb-ı Sak Castle

Darb-ı Sak Castle, which means a mountain-footed passage, is one of the most magnificent of Hatay's past works. In Arabic, the name of the 'Darb-ı Sak' castle, which means road, passage, or 'Darb', which means mountain foot or 'Sak' which means the word 'Sak' in the sense of a mountain foot or a slope adjacent to the valley, means the road that passes through the foot of the mountain. The castle, which is referred to as the castle of mountaineers or shepherds during the Byzantine period, is also referred to as 'Deir Bessak' in some historical sources, which means 'High Clergy House'. For centuries, the castle, which is of strategic importance in order to ensure the safety of the Aleppo road, is one of the places frequented by those who came to see Hatay today. It is also known as the place where Darius, king of Persian, used it as a headquarters against Alexander the Great in 333 BC. Then, the Darb-ı Sak Castle, which took its place among the Turkish castles after the Anatolian Seljuk State took over Antioch, then Armenians in 1771 and The Knights of Templiers took over it in 1188. Darb-ı Sak Castle, which dates back to the late Hellenistic period, is one of the oldest buildings in the city, but also of great historical and architectural importance.