Social Life

Moltke visiting Rumkale in 1838 writes that it is difficult to guess where the rock ends in Rumkale and where the man-made structure starts, that there are crenels, battlements, towers with the 60 feet height from the whitish stone and six doors. The Armenian say that they built a magnificent monastery and the houses were partly or totally made from rocks in the castle, one of the centers for the Armenian priests until a certain time.

The city having four quarters was situated in the west of the castle. According to the 16. century records, the Ulu Mosque was in the city centre and there was a madrasah serving since the 14. century. We conclude that there was a bazaar, inferring from the shops given the madrasah.

Evliya Celebi visiting Rumkale in the 17. century witnessed the presence of inns, baths, and a bazaar. The soft rocks harden when it contacts with air. It makes us think that houses from rocks were built as a precaution against earthquakes. There are crenels made of stone on the perpendicular rocks surrounded by walls, Its connection with the hill at the back was cut by a dike. The only road from the castle to the houses is cut by the six castle doors.

At the beginning of the 19. century, 40 houses survived fit and the others were like debris. As the residential area moved to Halfeti in the 19. century, the population went down and only a village called Kasaba, referred as the old Rumkale on the maps, was left back and it is within the boundaries of the Yavuzeli District in Gaziantep.