Softa Castle
Softa Castle () is a ruined castle in Bozyazı ilçe (district) of Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography. The castle, to the east of Bozyazı district center is situated on a hill of high and close to Turkish state highway at . However the road doesn't reach the castle and the visitors have to walk up the last course from the nearest path. Its distance to Bozyazı is only and to Mersin is . History. The castle was built in late Roman times. Its original name was "Sycae" (), and continued to be used under the Byzantine Empire. In the first half of  the 13th century, it was captured by the Atabeg Ertokuş of the Seljuk Turks. It was also used during the Karamanid era (up to mid 15th century). In the 1470s it was captured by Gedik Ahmet Pasha of the Ottoman Empire. Archaeology. It is an oval shaped castle where the narrowest diameter is about . But the ruins out of the castle spread out to ancient Arsinoe. In the southern slopes of the hill there are graves. The portal is on the west rampart. In the castle there are ruins of a palace, a bath, several cisterns and a mosque. In  popular culture. According to a popular belief, there is an underground connection between Softa Castle and Mamure Castle to the west, which so far is not proven. (The distance between the two castles is about .) Another belief is that the castle is protected by snakes.