Address
İstiklal Caddesi
Gazimağusa - Famagusta
Cyprus
Description
The Akkule, also known as Land Gate, Ravelin or Rivettina Bastion, is one of the two original gates into the Old Town of Famagusta.
As the name sugge
[more]The Akkule, also known as Land Gate, Ravelin or Rivettina Bastion, is one of the two original gates into the Old Town of Famagusta.
As the name suggests, it points land inwards while the other one, the Sea Gate, directs to the sea side of the city.
After the Othello's Tower it is the second oldest part of the city walls which span the whole town, the other bastions were added later when the Venetians reinforced the defensive structures of Famagusta.
The original gate was built by the Lusignans and called Ravelin, due to its half-moon shape. Enlarged and incorporated into the walls by the Venetians the Land Gate was impossible to breach and the Ottomans only managed to take the city when the Venetians were forced to surrender after a ten month siege.
The Land Gate is open to visitors who can see the chambers, the canon placements and wander the many passageways that lead throughout the structure.
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