Enez Kalesi

Enez Castle is an ancient fortress on the rocky ridge above the town of Enez, at the southwestern tip of Edirne Province, where the Meriç River flows into the Aegean Sea. This hill, the acropolis of the ancient city, is the only height that commands the town and the broad delta. The ancient name of Enez was Ainos, and Homer's Iliad tells that the commander who led Troy's Thracian allies came from here. Ancient writers relate that the city was founded by Aeolian settlers and that people from Lesbos and Kyme later settled here. The Edirne Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism presents Enez as a city with two harbours at the meeting point of the sea, river and land routes linking the Balkans, the Aegean and Anatolia. The town once stood on the seashore, but the silt carried by the Meriç has gradually pushed it away from the coast. The date of construction of the castle is not known for certain, but the reused material in its walls suggests that the structure goes back before the Byzantine period. The Culture Portal relates that the castle was built against raids from the Balkans and that in the 6th century the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian ordered it to be repaired. According to Byzantine sources the walls were raised in this period and the previously unprotected shore side was fortified. The castle was repaired again in the 12th century, and cut stone, brick and ancient architectural fragments were used together in its walls. From the late 14th century Enez came under the rule of the Genoese Gattilusio family, who held it for a long time thanks to the wealth the city drew from salt pans and fisheries. The city became part of the Ottoman lands in January 1456 after Sultan Mehmed II besieged it from land and sea. The pointed Ottoman arches inside the castle show that the structure remained in use in this period as well. The castle runs in a northwest to southeast direction, and its main entrance faces northeast. The crenellated tower and gateway you meet as you climb the slope are part of this entrance. In the wall beside the monumental gate there is a depiction of a Thracian horseman carved in white marble, so remember to stop and look at it before passing through. On the sea side of the castle, two walls once ran from the castle down to the sea to protect the harbour. Of the square towers at the ends of these walls, only the western one survives today. The western wall was aligned so that it also overlooked the Meriç, guarding against attacks from the direction of the river. At the highest point of the hill stands a historic building that was built as a large church in the Byzantine period, converted into a mosque in the Ottoman period, and rebuilt after long years in ruins. A relief on the wall of a cave inside the castle, depicting Pan of Greek mythology and dancing nymphs, has been moved to the Edirne Museum. Excavations at Enez began in the 1970s and have uncovered, inside the castle and at various points in the town, a villa with mosaic floors, the remains of baths, paved streets and cemeteries of different periods. Excavations at the Hoca Çeşme mound, about three kilometres east of the town, showed that the first settlement in the area goes back to the Late Neolithic period. Wikipedia describes the castle today as an open-air museum that hosts events such as festivals and exhibitions. Starting at the northeastern gate, walking along the walls and then climbing to the highest point of the hill is the easiest way to understand the layout of the castle. From the top you see on one side the reed beds and lagoons opening onto the Meriç delta and on the other the plain stretching towards the Gulf of Saros. The ground inside the castle is partly earth and stone, so wear comfortable shoes and bear in mind that shade is hard to find at midday in summer. Before you go, check the current announcements of the official bodies in Enez for visiting conditions and events inside the castle. The Culture Portal notes that Enez can be reached by minibus via Keşan. The road from the centre of Edirne is long, so it is best to plan the visit as part of a day trip to Enez. You can walk up to the castle from the town centre, because the castle sits on the ridge just above the town's streets. Enez is today known as the westernmost town of Turkey's territory on the European continent. The Meriç Delta that spreads around the castle is a wetland that includes Lake Gala National Park, and the regional directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry counts Enez Castle among the important cultural assets of the delta. Combining the castle with birdwatching at Lake Gala therefore lets you see both history and nature on the same day. On the coastal side of the town there are also the remains of an Ottoman caravanserai dated to the 16th century and locally known as the English Barracks. Spring and autumn, when the heat eases and bird movement in the delta increases, are the best seasons to come to Enez.