Ehmedek Castle

Kızılkule watched the sea; Ehmedek watched the land. A year later the same sultan added this section on the northern side of the castle: two separate parts of three towers each, six in all. It is the least crowded corner of the castle, and from between the stone walls you get the town and the mountain line together. Most people touring the castle do not walk this far, so it stays quiet.

To tell Ehmedek apart from the rest of the walls, look at the stone: the blocks in this section are noticeably bigger than those elsewhere in the castle. Sultan Alâeddin Keykubad did not build it on empty ground but set it on foundations left over from the Hellenistic age. Beside the western outer gate, the lower courses of the wall still show that older masonry.

The main way in is on the east face. On the outside of the western tower sits an inscription set inside a frame, so the stone itself records who this northern end belonged to. An earthquake in the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent left Ehmedek badly damaged. Walking between the towers, it is easy to see that the two parts were built as separate units.

It lies in the area the cable car drops you into, and together with the Süleymaniye Mosque and the Akşebe Masjid it is one of the spots that need no ticket. On our city tour you are handed a cable car ticket and get two to three hours of free time at the castle, which is plenty for a walk out to Ehmedek and a look down at the town from between its towers.

• A year after Kızılkule
• 2 parts, 6 towers
• Land defence