Antalya Castle on the 1815 Map: City Walls, Doors and Towers

Abstract

During the Ottoman Empire period, Antalya Castle was one of the most important port castles of Anatolia. It has been repaired many times due to its importance, and thus it has managed to remain standing until the beginning of the 20^th century. One of the most extensive repairs of the Antalya Castle occurred after the Tekelioğlu Rebellion, which continued between the years of 1812-1814. During this period, when Ibrahim Bey rebelled against the Sultan Mahmud II and the city was besieged by the Ottoman Empire, many parts of the castle were ruined. Therefore, after the seizure of Antalya, the first repair teams came to the city and the reconstruction process which was going to continue for several years, started in 1815. In addition, during this period, for the repair of Antalya Castle, two different discovery reports were prepared in 1825 and 1836, and Antalya Castle has been repaired in accordance with these reports.

The most detailed of all these discovery reports is the 1815 report prepared by the Architect Mustafa Raşid Efendi. In the report, the need for repair of Antalya Castle was written in detail. The map drawn by Mustafa Raşid Efendi shows the interior and exterior walls, the ditches surrounding the castle, the castle towers and the castle gates. Thus, it is possible to extract a structural panorama of Antalya Castle in the early 19th century thanks to the information in the discovery report and the map.

This article aims to come up with a detailed description of the drawing that we called the 1815 Map. On this occasion, the condition of Antalya Castle in the beginning of the 19^th century will be tried to be depicted.