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castle are located
in the Düziçi district and the ruins of Karafenk castle and Savranda
castle at Kalecik village are located in Hasanbeyli district.
Museums and Ancient Cities
Bodrumkale - Kastabala City (Hierapolis) : It is located in
the borders of Kesmeburim Village and Bahçe Village which are at
15 kilometers distance to Osmaniye province. The most important
ancient remains that could be able to reach today in good condition
in Kastabala are the avenue with pillars and its amphitheater with
five thousand spectator capacity. Beside those, the other important
ruins of the ancient city are two churches, the castle, the Roman
bath , the stadium, the necropolis' surrounding all around the city
and the ruins of the aqueduct constructed over the Ceyhan river
located approximately 5 km north-east of the city. Kastabala is
one of the most important promenade areas and touristic places of
Osmaniye province.
Karatepe - Aslantaş Open Air Museum : The open air museum
is located at the southeast of Kadirli district and is at 22 kilometers
distance to the district, 30 kilometers distant to the Osmaniye
Province and 130 kilometers distant to Adana province. There are
two burnt building ruins which are assumed to be the palace and
the grain storage wells located on the hill. The castle has two
main entrances which are located at southwest and northeast respectively.
There are two statues of lions with broken pieces at the southwest
entrance gate. At the left and right side chambers, there are reciprocal
Finike (peg writings) and Hittite hieroglyph inscriptions located
on the swarthy and light yellow, hard pieced basalt stone blocks
in the style of wall plating depicting the daily living and religious
activities in the form of various figure relieves (stone embossed
designs) and similar inscriptions. The 3 meter long statue depicting
the God of Storms is located inside the gate. At the southeastern
gate, there are two reciprocal sphinxes with human heads and lion
bodies. The left and right chambers contain the relief of the God
of Sun and various other relieves together with the reciprocal Finike
(peg writings) and Hittite hieroglyph inscriptions. The Finike (peg
writings) discovered in this ancient city had provided a key for
the decryption of the Hittite hieroglyphs which were not been able
to be decrypted wholly before. The Hittite inscriptions in the world
had been primarily decrypted and read in this ancient city. After
the decryption of these inscriptions, the entire hieroglyph inscriptions
located in Anatolia extending to the date of BC 2000 was been able
to read. The ruins and findings of Karatepe - Aslantaş ancient city
had been exhibited at the same location by founding an open air
museum.
Osmaniye Karatepe-Aslantaş A Late Hittite Fortress : The
fortress of Karatepe-Aslantaş (in the province of Adana, now Osmaniye
and in the district of Kadirli) was founded in the 8th century B.C.
by Azatiwatis, ruler of the plain of Adana as a frontier castle
against the wild hordes lurking in the north. He named it Azatiwadaya.
A caravan road leading from the southern plains up-to the Central
Anatolian plateau, skirted it on the west, the Ceyhan river (antique
Pyramos)- now the Aslantaş dam lake-on the east. Two monumental
Tshaped gate-houses, flanked by high towers. Gave access to the
citadel. An entrance passage between two towers led up to a double-leafed
wooden gate, which swung on basalt pivot-stones, from there to two
lateral chambers and further on into the citadel. In a holy precinct
at the inner entrance of the southwest gate stood the monumental
statue of the Storm-God on its double bull-socle. The inner walls
of the gate-houses were adorned with sculptures of lions and sphinxes,
inscriptions and reliefs, depicting cultual, mythological and daily-life
scenes carved on blocks of basalt. A bilingual text in Phoenician
and Hieroglyphic Luwian, the longest known texts in these languages,
was inscribed on slabs of each gate with a third one in Phoenician
on the Divine Statue, constituting the key for the final decipherment
of the Hieroglyphs, (known in Anatolia since the 2nd mill B.C.),
being thus reminiscent of the famous Rosetta Stone. After
the fall of the Hittite Empire (which ruled Central Anatolia in
the 2nd mill B.C.), due to the invasion of the "Peoples of
the Sea" (around 1200 B.C.), small kingdoms such as those of
Malatya, Sakçagözü, Maraş, Kargamış, Zincirli, sprang up south of
the Taurus mountain range. They were conquered and destroyed in
the course of various Assyrian campaigns. The reign of Asatiwatas
coincides with this period. His citadel was probably looted and
burnt down to the ground by Salmanassar V around 720 B.C. or by
Asarhaddon around 680 B.C.
Azatiwatas Speaks : I am indeed Azatiwatas, The blessed of
the Sun, the servant of the Storm-God, Whom Awarikus exalted, king
of Adanawa. The Storm-God made me father and mother to the city
of Adanawa, And I developed the city of Adanawa, And I enlarged
the land of Adanawa, both to the west and to the east. And in my
days the city of Adanawa had prosperity, Satiety and comfort, and
I filled the arsenals of Pahara, I added horse upon horse, shield
upon shield, Army upon army, all for the Storm-God and the Gods
I crushed the arrogance of the arrogant, all the evil that was in
the land I cast outside. I erected mansions for my lordship, I brought
prosperity to my race, And I sat on the throne of my father, I made
peace with every king. Kings considered me their father, for my
righteousness, for my wisdom, And for the goodness of my heart.
I built mighty fortresses on all my borders, On the borders where
there had been bad men, leaders of gangs, none of whom had been
subservient to the house of Mopsos I, Azatiwatas put them at my
feet. I destroyed the fortresses there, I built fortresses in those
places, so that the people of Adanawa might dwell in ease and in
peace. In the west I subjugated mighty lands Which the kings before
me had not subjugated. And I, Azatiwatas subjugated them, made them
my servents. And I settled them in the east of my land, Within my
borders. The people of Adanawa, too, I settled there. And in my
days I enlargened the borders of Adanawa to the west as well as
to the east, so that, in the places which had formerly been feared,
on the desolate roads where men would be afraid to walk, in my days
women could stroll with their spindles. And in my days there was
plenty, satiety, comfort and peace. And Adanawa and the land of
Adanawa lived in peace and plenty. And A built this citadel, And
I gave it the name of Azatiwadaya, Because the Storm-God and the
Gods directed me towards this, So that this citadel might protect
the plain of Adana and the house of Mopsos. In my days there were
in the people of Adanawa was plenty and peace, In my days none of
the people of Adanawa was put to the sword. And I built this citadel,
I gave it the name of Azatiwadaya, There I settled the Storm-God
and I made sacrifices to him; annually an ox, in the season of ploughing
a sheep, in autumn a sheep I sacrificed to him. I sanctified the
Storm-God, He granted me long days, countless years and great, strength
above all kings. And the people who dwell in this land became owners
of cattle, herds, plenty (of food) and wine, Their offspring was
plenty, by the grace of the Storm-God and the Gods They rendered
service to Azatiwatas and to the house of Mopsos. And if any king
among kings, or any prince among princes, or a person of renown,
Obliterates the name of Azatiwatas in this gate and puts here another
name, or even covets this city and destroys this gate which Azatiwatas
made, and builds another gate in its place and puts his name upon
it, Whether he destroys this gate from greed, or from hate and evil,
Then may the God of the Sky, the God of the Earth And the Sun of
the Universe and all the generations of gods obliterate this king,
this prince or this person of renown from the face of earth. Only
the name of Azatiwatas is immortal in eternity, Like the name of
the Sun and of the Moon.
The Alacami
(Kadirli) Mosque : located at the city center and constructed
in 5th century AC at the Roman period is the most important mosque
of the province. The Ağacabey Mosque located in the Bahçe district
is worth seeing.
Ala Mosque (Kadirli) : The mosque is originally a basilica
belonging to the Roman period and is one f the rarest creations
that could stand still since that period. The basilica was inspected
to be affected from the style of Syria and was transformed into
a church in 12th century with the assistance of the abscissa and
in 1489 with the addition of a minaret and a niche, the structure
was transformed into a mosque by the ruler of Dulkadiroğulları,
Alaüddevle. The structure is an important religious structure which
belongs to both the Roman period, Byzantine period and also the
Ottoman Period. The lower sections of the mosque contain burial
chambers belonging to the Byzantine period.
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