Mamure Kalesi is the best preserved medieval castle on the Turkish south coast. The castle was built in the third century AD as a Roman fortress. Excavations inside and around the castle in 1988 found the foundations of buildings with mosaic floors, which were classified as baths and residential buildings.

The castle was rebuilt under the rule of the kingdom of Kleinarmenien. Since this was closely allied with the Crusader states, Franconian architectural elements can also be found in the castle complex. In 1375 it was taken over by the Karamanogullari after the end of the small Armenian empire. Among them it was extended in the 14th century. An inscription on the north side indicates "Karamanoglu Alâeddinoglu Mehmedoglu Sultan Ibrahim" as the builder and as the date of construction the tenth month of the Islamic lunar year 854 (November/December 1450 aggregate). Later, the Ottomans took over the building, which they extended again in the 19th century and used until the end of their empire.

The castle complex measures about 240 m in west-east direction and 170 m from north to south. It is surrounded to the east and north by a moat connected to the sea. The main gate is located on the east side next to the main tower, another gate is located on the northwest side, where the building inscription is also located. The interior of the castle is divided into three courtyards by walls. The mighty outer walls include 36 towers, some round, some square; the main tower to the east has a dodecagonal ground plan. The two-storey walls have battlements and embrasures and are accessible via a branched system of stairs and corridors. In the castle courtyards there are stables, living rooms, bathhouses, storage rooms and a mosque, some of which are integrated into the walls. The latter was probably first built by the Karamanogullari, the current building has the classical elements of Ottoman architecture of the 16th century.