There are about 40 castles across Turkey today that exist in some capacity.
A high percentage of them are in the Mersin Province, which is south of the Mediterranean.
These fortresses far preceded the well-known European castles, since there have been similar structures in Turkey for over 3,000 years.
That shouldn’t come as too much of a shock, since people have been in the area for a million years.
There’s even evidence that the area we refer to as Turkey was part of the bridge that connected Africa to Europe and Asia.
So, before we fall too far down the rabbit hole of time, let’s check out some of the most amazing castles available today.
10 Most Beautiful Castles in Turkey
1. Rumeli Hisari Castle
Rumelihisari, also called Boğazkesen Castle, has been a testament of power since 1452.
On the banks of the Bosphorus, this medieval castle is located in Istanbul.
It was constructed by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II or Mehmed the Conqueror, depending on who you ask.
The goal was to have it ready when Constantinople was conquered.
If you didn’t know, Istanbul was Constantinople.
It sits at the narrowest point of the channel, positioned strategically across the way from another fortress.
Shockingly, it only took four months to go from the ground up.
But of course, 3,000 people were working around the clock to make that tight deadline.
All these centuries later, the stone castle still overlooks the water as it winds up the hill.
2. Simena Castle
With a Turkish flag waving high above the water below, Simena Castle has a much older story to tell.
Simena is the name of the modern-day city, but it was also known as Kaleköy.
Kaleköy is Turkish for Castle Village, which is actually quite fitting.
The castle was built 2,400 years ago, but by whom is debatable.
Some say it was by the Knights of Rhodes in an effort to defend themselves against marauders and pirates.
Simena is surrounded by 161 miles of protected terrain.
That means the castle is not in danger of being destroyed.
You can only get there by foot or boat as there is no road access.
Before you even get started exploring the castle, it’s an adventure!
3. Maiden Castle
Kiz Kalesi, Turkish for Maiden’s Castle, is regarded as symbolic of the city once called Kyrkos.
Today, Mersin is a large port city in the south of Turkey.
On the Mediterranean, the town is most known for the fruit and cotton it exports.
Less than 2,000 feet from the coast, Kiz Kalesi was a big deal to the locals because of foreign trade.
Because the ancient castle has been around for about 2,400 years, it has seen control from many different groups of people.
Legend has it that the king built this overwhelming structure to protect his daughter from her fate of death by snakebite.
When you have a castle on an island with no exposure to nature other than water, it would be seemingly difficult to be found by slithering creatures.
Unfortunately, a snake snuck in and got to her anyway. So, the maiden part was in memory of her.
4. Bodrum Castle
Standing tall in the port city of Bodrum, this castle has been atop a rocky coastline for six centuries.
This UNESCO World Heritage Site was constructed by the Knights of St. John as a Christian stronghold.
A century later, it was taken over by the Ottomans and converted to Islam.
What makes Bodrum unique are the four towers.
Each represents a unique nation that in some way contributed to the castle.
Those countries are England, France, Germany, and Italy.
Bodrum Castle stayed as part of the empire until WWI when it basically became devoid of people.
Four decades later, the structure found interest again and it became the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology.
Over 300,000 tourists go out of their way to check out the museum and the castle each year.
5. Mamure Castle
Mamure Castle started out as an ancient Roman castle.
The ruins were found by the Armenian king who ruled Cilicia.
Never one to waste materials, a plan was put into place for a new castle to be constructed that incorporated those ruins.
The point of the castle was to safeguard locals from sailors who had gone to the dark side.
There were two major reconstructions to follow, once by the Byzantines and later during the Crusades.
Mamure had turned into ruins once again by the time Alaattin Keykubat I came across it in the 13th century.
He added quite a bit to the structure.
The same happened again in the late 15th century with the Ottomans.
The need for more updates continued in subsequent centuries.
Today, it lives on as a tourist attraction.
6. Yoros Castle
Clearly, the Bosphorus was the most popular place to put a castle in Turkey for a very long time.
Just north of Joshua’s Hill, and on the Bosphorus, is Yoros Castle.
Some call it Genoese Castle since it was owned by Genoa for a time.
Yoros may be in ruins, but what’s left is pretty impressive, considering it’s been around for eight centuries.
It takes just under half an hour to make it to the top of the hill that the castle sits on.
The magic is looking out at the breathtaking scenery surrounding the structure.
It’s also fun to look around and try to envision what used to be here and what powerful people stood in these halls.
7. Kyrenia Castle
This is a castle of many layers.
When we say layers, we mean history.
Kyrenia, or Girne, Castle is sort of a hodgepodge of culture when you dig deep.
It is believed that the castle started its journey in the 600s with the Byzantines.
They viewed sailors from the middle east as a threat and Kyrenia was for protection.
The structure exchanged hands several times over the centuries.
In the 1100s, a chapel was added.
400 years later, Venetians rebuilt and upgraded what had been turned into a base for the Crusaders.
Today, Kyrenia Castle is a shipwreck museum.
8. Boyabat Castle
From the looks of it, an entire city could enjoy the security of living in this sprawling estate.
That would have been a great idea, considering Boyabat castle was erected thousands of years ago by the Paphlagonians.
There’s no exact date for us to go by.
However, what archeologists can tell us is that it was old enough for the Romans to repair and rebuild it.
The fortress would go on to undergo multiple reconstructions over time by civilizations such as the Byzantines and the Ottomans.
Overall, Boyabat has been in retirement for seven centuries.
Thanks to all the attention paid to it early on, the walls were strong enough to survive being abandoned.
Today, the castle found part-time work as a museum.
9. Ankara Castle
As many architects of the era chose to do, Ankara Castle was built on top of a previous castle.
This iteration was completed in the 600s but the first was going on 3,000 years ago by the Phrygians.
1,000 years later the Galatians added their own touches to the fortress.
Similar to Boyabat, Ankara Castle continued to be renovated by whichever ruling people had possession at the time.
Ankara was constructed between the 5th and 1st century BCE.
This spot was picked as a point of strategy.
It overlooked all of the bustling city of Ankara.
That makes it a great place to make an army base.
If you want a glimpse into the past, you can climb up to the castle for free.
10. Uchisar Castle
As many as 1,000 people once called Uchisar Castle home.
Back during its heyday, around the 12th century BCE, the castle was basically a well-oiled machine.
There was so much activity and so many people going about their daily lives.
The castle blends into the volcanic rock from whence it came.
Talk about working with what you’ve got.
Now part of Göreme National Park, Uchisar Castle is a popular tourist attraction for the structure and fairy chimneys.
Turkey Safety Overview
READ THE FULL REPORT: Turkey Safety Review
Safety Index:
- OVERALL RISK: HIGH
- TRANSPORT & TAXIS RISK: LOW
- PICKPOCKETS RISK: MEDIUM
- NATURAL DISASTERS RISK: LOW
- MUGGING RISK: MEDIUM
- TERRORISM RISK: HIGH
- SCAMS RISK: MEDIUM
- WOMEN TRAVELERS RISK: MEDIUM
Frequently Asked Questions
When were castles built in Turkey?
Due to the precarious area Turkey sits in, there have been fortresses built there for thousands of years.
So, you have ancient castles from bygone empires as well as some from the Middle Ages.
You can pretty much expect to be able to go through Turkish history before there was such a thing.
Even the ruins can tell us a lot about what was going on during their glory days.
When did Turkey become a country?
Officially, Turkey became Turkey after the Sultanate was abolished following the Turkish War of Independence in 1923.
Before the country’s status, the area was classified as the Ottoman Empire.
At its peak, the empire stretched across southeastern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and into Central Asia.
Is there still a Sultan in Turkey?
Technically, the country now has a president and is considered a constitutional republic, as opposed to a monarchy with a reigning family.
However, that doesn’t mean the family that ruled since the Ottoman Empire in 1299 isn’t just as present.
Despite the Sultanate being abolished in 1922, the House of Osman is still important to the country and culture.
At 90 years old, Harun Osman just inherited his position as the current head in early 2021.
What's the biggest castle in Turkey?
Rumelihisari, also known as Rumelian Castle or Boğazkesen Castle, stretches out over a series of hills overlooking the Bosphorus.
The names, translated into English, mean Strait Blocker and Throat Cutter.
Let’s just say, this fortress means business and is pretty intent on defending Turkey from a clear advantage.
Overall, there are 336,000 square feet of the castle to contend with.
Turkey’s castles offer a unique glimpse into the country’s rich history and diverse cultures, making them a must-see for any traveler visiting the beautiful nation.
The castles of Turkey offer a fascinating glimpse into the country’s rich history and diverse cultural influences, making them a must-see for anyone visiting this beautiful land.