Broken Minaret

Keski Minare, The Broken Minaret, is exactly as its name suggests, the Roman temple has a fascinating story to tell. The lone pillar is an important landmark situated in the centre of Kaleici, Antalya's old town between Hadrian's Gate and Hidirlik Tower. The ancient site makes an interesting contrast the many modern shops, restaurants and bars in the surrounding streets.

The temple was originally constructed in the 2nd century AD but throughout the centuries the ancient temple has been demolished by the Byzantines, damaged by Arab invasions and converted to a mosque on two separate occasions. The first reconstruction took place in the 7th century AD when it was rebuilt as a Byzantine Church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the construction used mostly the original stones and columns, soon after the reconstruction was completed Arab raids left the church in a sorry state and it wasn't restored until 200 years later. In the 13th century, it was converted to a mosque by Seljuk Turks and the famous minaret was added. The mosque was again converted back to a church by the King of Cypress in 1361 and it stayed this way until the 1400s when Antalya came under Ottoman rule. In the 1500s the Prince Sahzade Korkut had the building converted once more to a mosque. The unlucky site was caught in the great fire in 1896 when it was ruined for the final time.

No further attempts have been made to restore this ancient structure, instead, the Broken Minaret stands proudly in its damaged state and draws visitors from all over.