Payas Kalesi
Payas Castle is a historic site located in the Payas district of Hatay province. It is believed to have been initially built by the Genoese during the Crusades and was used by the Knights Templar to ensure the safety of pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem. During the Ottoman period, it was rebuilt between 1567 and 1571 under the patronage of Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha. The castle has a roughly pentagonal plan with a single circuit wall featuring seven towers and is surrounded by a deep dry moat. The Payas Şehi̇r train stop is 633 meters away.
