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Bodrum Castle is situated on a rocky promontory between two beys.
In 1496/1407, the Knights of St. John commenced building on the site
of an ancient Byzantine and Turkish castle. The construction
continued until 1522.
the plan of the castle is virtually square. Apart from the east
rampart. the rest of the fortifications are strengthened by double
outer walls. As they possossed a powerful fleet, the Knights were
confident that they could easily ward off any potential danger from
the sea, and the sea walls were relatively weak. The ramparts facing
the mainland, however, were heavily fortified.
There are five main towers in the castle. These are known to the
people of Bodrum by alternative names. They are the English Tower
(The Lion Tower), the French Tower (The Embroidery Tower), The
Italian Tower (The Releif Tower), The German Tower (The Strong Tower)
and the Spanish Tower (The Snake Tower).
If one looks down between the Snake Tower and the German Tower, it is
possible to see two further towers in the inner moat below the thick
walls of the rampart. These little -known towers are the Gatineau and
the Caretto. The Caretto tower was built in the name of Magnus
Magister (Grand Master) Fabrico del Caretto (1513-1521), and the
Gatineau Tower was constructed under Jacques Gatineau (1512-1514),
one of the castle commanders. In the Gatineau Tower the cannon
embrasures and the ventilation shafts were blocked up, and during the
years 1513 to 1522 the tower was used as a dungeon and torture
chamber.
On the 29th of July 1522, Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent and the
Ottoman Turks, aware of the supremacy and invincibility of the
Knights of St. John, commenced a siege on the Knights of St. John,
commenced a siege on the Knights castle on the island of Rhodes.
During the siege, which lasted 4 months 23 days, both sides sustained
significant losses. The Knights finally surrendered on the 20th of
December 1522 and an agreement was signed to the effect that the
Castle of Rhodes and its island, togetherwith 12 other Islands,
including Cos (Istankoy), and Bodrum Castle would be handed over to
the Turks within 10 days. Bodrum Castle was surrendered without a
struggle on the 5th of January 1523 and the Turks proceeded to bury
the shameful room beneath a 3 meter thick stone wall in order to
erease it from history.
On the outer wall of the Ganiteau Tower are three coats of arms. The
central of these comprises the arms of Magnus Magister Emery
d'Amboise (1503-1512), and those on either side are the arms of
Jacques Gatineau, the commanders responsible for the construction of
the tower. The tower is entered by a flight of 23 steps leading down.
Above the inner door is an inscription in Latin -INDE DEUS ABEST,
meaning 'God is absent from this place'. Just within the entrance is
a balcony from which the torture chamber can be seen. Within each of
the walls to east and west are two small chambers, the old cannon
embrasures, each with a ventilation shaft above. One of these shafts
was blocked by the arms in the shape of an anchored cross of Magnus
Magister Pierre d'Aubusson (1476-1503). In the north-west corner of
the main room is the gibbet ditch, in the front of which is a very
small cramped cell in the ground. Attached to the wall are manacles,
on the floor is a heavy ball and chain, and, hanging from the ceiling
are the gibbet irons.
During its period of use, certain important Turks were held captive
in the castle dungeons. Among these was Oruc Reis, the elder brother
of the famous Admiral Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha, On his return voyage
from the Trablussam victory, he was besieged by the Knights. His
brother Ilyas was killed in the battle and Oruc Reis himself was
wounded and taken prisoner. He was in captivity from 1503 to 1506,
spending the first year of his imprisonment in the castle dungeon.
The Knights later regarded him as more trustworthy and transferred
him to the island of Rhodes.
'The Gazavat - i Barbaros Hayrettin', the memories of Barbaros
Hayrettin Pasha, written by Seyidi Muradi, recounts the imprisonment
of his brother:
"...they threw Oruc Reis into the dungeon and ordered that he should
be severely tortured. His hands and feet were beaten with heavy iron
chains, and he was made to suffer terrible afflictions. He was given
only enough bread to keep hem alive."
Through the centuries the most honorable efforts of mankind have
been in working towards enabling people to live without torture,
without pain and without cruelty, their most important right, and a
dungeon is always reminiscent of suspicion, fear and pain. The doors
of the dungeon of Bodrum Castle are being opened as an example to the
whole of humanity, in the hope that the pains suffered for centuries
by mankind might end and the darkness be filled with light.
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