Anavarza Ancient City

In the heart of Çukurova, the ancient city of Anavarza, or Anavarza Castle, is a site that carries the culture of many civilisations, with parts still underground waiting to be discovered. Anavarza Castle stands where the boundaries of the Kadirli, Kozan and Ceyhan districts meet. This article gives information about Anavarza Castle, in the province of Adana.

From time to time we feature the remains and historic monuments of the different civilisations found in Türkiye. One of them is the ancient city of Anavarza in Adana. Also called Anavarza Castle in the sources, it is an ancient city of theatres, aqueducts, baths, mosaics, churches, towers, walls and fortresses spread over an area of 143 dönüms (about 14 hectares). It bears traces of many civilisations, but above all it holds works of Roman culture.

Archaeological work shows that the city has structures as much as 30 metres below ground. With parts still to be discovered, Anavarza is known as one of the largest and most important metropolises of Anatolia.

The ancient city of Ephesus in İzmir draws visitors from all over the world. If you find yourself in Adana, I recommend visiting Anavarza too. You will see for yourself that its architecture is at least as magnificent as that of Ephesus.

Where Is Anavarza Castle (Ancient City)?

Although archaeological sources call it the ancient city of Anavarza, local people call it Anavarza Castle. Anavarza Castle is an ancient city of historic remains covering a very large area

. The castle lies 70 km northeast of central Adana,

. At this point there is a village formerly called Anavarza and now called Dilekkaya.

, Anavarza Castle sits on a high hill 8 km north of where the Sunbas stream joins the Ceyhan.

The Architecture of Anavarza Castle

As its name suggests, the ancient city of Anavarza is made up of many walls and fortresses. Although little of these survives today, some of the great walls that encircled the city are still standing. The castle was built on a gently rising, island-like hill. Since reaching it means climbing very sharp, steep rocks, it cannot be entered from every side; the only ways in are the gates on the south and east sides.

Anavarza Castle has three parts. The first is a military barracks, with a small three-aisled church built in 1057 by the Armenian prince Toros. The second wall encloses sections with rooms and water cisterns. The third part again has walls and towers. Covering 143 dönüms, the site is described in the sources as a second Ephesus, and they stress that its buildings are at least as extensive and rich as those of Ephesus.

The History of Anavarza Castle

Also known as

, Anavarza Castle has no firm date of construction. It is known, however, that in 19 BC

visited the Kingdom of Anavarza. One day the Roman emperor

over the throne. In this war the Kingdom of Anavarza stood by Emperor Severus and supported him. When the war ended in Severus’s victory, he rewarded Anavarza for its loyalty. This was the brightest period in the city’s history, when it became the metropolis of regions such as Cilicia, Isauria and Lycaonia.

Later the city was conquered by the Sasanian king Shapur and suffered great damage. Repaired by the emperors of the time, it regained its former beauty, but was badly damaged again by the earthquakes of 525 and 561.

Closer to our own time, after the Battle of Manzikert, Ruben, son of the Armenian king, became master of many Byzantine fortresses around Kozan, then called Sis, and Anavarza Castle was rebuilt in that period. For centuries the castle protected the people living in it from outside dangers, and the Afshar Turkmens came to rule the castle and the area. After the 16th century, under the protection of the Kozanoğulları principality, an effectively independent Turkmen principality ruled Anavarza Castle.