Turkey · 9th century
Şanlıurfa Castle ranks #4,723 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #64 of the 128 mapped in Turkey. Founded 814, it is older than 95% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 85 atlas entries founded in the 9th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,016 times in the last 60 days, more than 51% of the atlas. See how Turkey compares in the castle statistics.
Şanlıurfa Castle, or Urfa Castle in short, is a castle overlooking the city center of Şanlıurfa (previously Edessa), Turkey. The castle was built by the Osroene in antiquity and the current walls were constructed by the Abbasids in 814 AD. Today, the castle functions as an open-air museum.
During excavations at the castle, archaeologists uncovered a mosaic floor likely dating to the fifth century, adorned with Greek inscriptions as well as plant, animal and geometric designs. Nearby, several tombs were discovered, thought to belong to clergy who once served in the area.
Text adapted from “Şanlıurfa Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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