İzmir to renovate ancient ramparts
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 20, 2009 00:00
İZMİR - Led by an art historian, a team including a material expert, a chemist, an architect and a renovation expert will restore the ramparts of Kadifekale Castle. The renovation project, which is expected to last a year because of the detailed work, will be opened to bid.
The ramparts of Kadifekale Castle, erected on orders from Alexander the Great in 334 B.C., will be renovated 24 centuries later by the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.
Measurements are being taken at Kadifekale, which means "the velvet castle" in Turkish. The team for this project on Pagos Mountain will include an art historian, a material expert, a chemist, an architect and a renovation expert.
After the team determines the details of the project, the necessary approval will be granted and a bid will be opened. The renovation process is expected to last a year because of the delicate and detailed nature of the work.
What will be done
Sensitive measurements will be taken at the castle through photographic surveys. The grade level of the ramparts, their structure above the ground and the trees surrounding them will be measured from various angles. Every piece of rock on the surface will be measured to the smallest detail. The material analysis will determine the substances used in the ramparts, and what changes have been made to the ramparts in which period and how. The rocks that form the ramparts will be analyzed according to their structure, their durability and the components within, allowing the team to better choose the right materials for the renovation.
Kadifekale is located on a hill at the bottom of Pagos Mountain. It was constructed upon orders from Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonia and the liberator of Anatolia from Persian rule, in 334 B.C. The castle was damaged by the invading armies of Timur, the Mongolian conqueror, and by the İzmir earthquake in 1668. Not much of the original castle is standing today as most of the ruins are from the Middle Ages.
Rubble stone castle
Digs below the castle walls from the Middle Ages revealed wall ruins from the Hellenistic Age. That these ruins survived until today indicates that the castle was made from rubble stone, cut stone and brick.
Only the five towers on the west side of the castle and some of the southern walls remain standing. These indicate that the castle walls were six kilometers long and the towers that supported the ramparts were 25 to 30 meters high. The eastern and northern faces of the castle have been totally destroyed. The castle also has a cloister and the remnants of a cistern.Some of the castle ramparts were demolished by the order of Mehmed I, the sixth sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Measurements are being taken at Kadifekale, which means "the velvet castle" in Turkish. The team for this project on Pagos Mountain will include an art historian, a material expert, a chemist, an architect and a renovation expert.
After the team determines the details of the project, the necessary approval will be granted and a bid will be opened. The renovation process is expected to last a year because of the delicate and detailed nature of the work.
What will be done
Sensitive measurements will be taken at the castle through photographic surveys. The grade level of the ramparts, their structure above the ground and the trees surrounding them will be measured from various angles. Every piece of rock on the surface will be measured to the smallest detail. The material analysis will determine the substances used in the ramparts, and what changes have been made to the ramparts in which period and how. The rocks that form the ramparts will be analyzed according to their structure, their durability and the components within, allowing the team to better choose the right materials for the renovation.
Kadifekale is located on a hill at the bottom of Pagos Mountain. It was constructed upon orders from Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonia and the liberator of Anatolia from Persian rule, in 334 B.C. The castle was damaged by the invading armies of Timur, the Mongolian conqueror, and by the İzmir earthquake in 1668. Not much of the original castle is standing today as most of the ruins are from the Middle Ages.
Rubble stone castle
Digs below the castle walls from the Middle Ages revealed wall ruins from the Hellenistic Age. That these ruins survived until today indicates that the castle was made from rubble stone, cut stone and brick.
Only the five towers on the west side of the castle and some of the southern walls remain standing. These indicate that the castle walls were six kilometers long and the towers that supported the ramparts were 25 to 30 meters high. The eastern and northern faces of the castle have been totally destroyed. The castle also has a cloister and the remnants of a cistern.Some of the castle ramparts were demolished by the order of Mehmed I, the sixth sultan of the Ottoman Empire.