Eski Kahta (Yeni Kale)

The village of Kocahisar, 70km/43 miles north-east of Adiyaman, is a convenient spot from which to visit the Mameluke fortress of Yeni Kale, built on a narrow mountain spur high above a Seljuk bridge spanning the Kahta Cayi gorge. The complex was constructed on top of earlier foundations by Kara Sonkar (Governor of Aleppo, 1286), being altered and extended at the end of the 13th c. and in the mid 14th c. Water was brought up from the Kahta Cayi via a stepped passage-way and stored in a cistern. For the "express" delivery of messages carrier pigeons were used, notably during Sultan Kala'un's decisive battle against the Mongols at Horns (1281).