700-year-old Genoese castle belongs to heirs of Ottoman pasha: Court
TRABZON
A court in the Black Sea province of Trabzon has ruled that the ownership of a land, on which a 13th-century Genoese fortress sits, belongs to a family that claims to be the descendants of an Ottoman pasha.
“Once the court gives the deed of the land to us, we can begin living in the ancient castle,” said Adnan Güngör Üçüncüoğlu, one of the heirs of Üçüncüoğlu Ömer Pasha.
In 2017, the family opened a lawsuit, claiming that the land of the Güzelhisar fortress belonged to Üçüncüzade Ömer Pasha, who was the governor of Trabzon between the years of 1737 and 1745.
After three-and-a-half years, the court ruled that the land belonged to the family based on some official documents from 1938.
“When we have the deed, we will put an ‘Üçüncüoğlu Fortress’ sign at the entrance of the castle,” said Üçüncüoğlu, speaking on behalf of the family.
“We will open the castle to tourism and will use the income generated to help underprivileged children who cannot afford with their education.”
But to have the deed of the land and the castle, the family now has to establish a foundation.
“Meeting the conditions required for a foundation is hard, but we will succeed,” noted Üçüncüoğlu.
The lawsuit has been a challenge for the residents of the city over the past years.
Aydın Çelik, a local, said he was surprised to learn that the land belonged to a family.
“We always thought that the military owned the place,” added Çelik.
