Kalecik Kalesi

Kalecik Castle is the fortress that stands on a steep rock more than one hundred and fifty metres high, dominating the centre of the Kalecik district northeast of Ankara and giving the town its name. The Kalecik Municipality presents the castle as one of the most important defensive structures around Ankara; it lies on the road to Çankırı. The town centre sits about 713 metres above sea level, and the castle rises another 150 to 160 metres above it. History Settlement in and around Kalecik goes back to the 4000s BC; remains attributed to the Hittites have been found in the area. The castle is thought to have been built by the Galatians around 275 BC and repaired and used by the Romans; it also served as a defence in the Byzantine period. The Kalecik District Governorate writes that the castle dates from Roman times and was repaired under the Ottomans. William Mitchell Ramsay, the scholar of Anatolia's historical geography, mentioned a city called Acitorizacum near Kalecik and identified Kalecik with Eçelriga. After the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Seljuk Turks captured the castle in 1075. After the Seljuk state dissolved, the Candaroğulları ruled the area; in the reign of Yıldırım Bayezid, Kalecik was joined to Ottoman territory together with Ankara. After Timur withdrew from Anatolia the Candaroğulları held the area for a short while longer, and then Ottoman rule became permanent. In the Ottoman period Kalecik was for many years a district attached to the sanjak of Çankırı. In the town, which appears in Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatname, tanning, coppersmithing and cloth weaving flourished and the Ahi brotherhoods spread. During the War of Independence the district gave logistical support to the national forces; in 1925 Atatürk stopped at Kalecik on his journey to Kastamonu. The structure The walls are built of piled stone; most of them have collapsed, and sections survive here and there. The castle is entered through an arched gate flanked by two cylindrical towers. The wooden gate leaves have not survived; only their sockets can be seen. Inside there is a cellar, once deep but now filled with stone and earth, a cistern, and a ruined burial chamber next to the cellar. The flag flying on the summit makes the castle recognisable from every part of the town. In 2024 the Directorate of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism conducted an excavation at the castle; it was one of seven excavations the directorate completed in Ankara that year. The directorate announced that the seven excavations had yielded finds ranging from the Palaeolithic through the Hittite, Phrygian, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods, and that work would continue in the spring of 2025. The Cultural Inventory record lists the castle as an accessible site. Visiting and the view The castle is reached on foot from the town centre; as the climb is steep, wear comfortable shoes and, in summer, come early in the morning or towards evening. From the top you see Kalecik's tiled roofs, the surrounding hills and, to the east, the flats of the Kızılırmak valley. The Kızılırmak wraps around the district from the south, east and northeast; the Develioğlu Bridge over the river is among the district's historic structures. Mount Karbasan bounds the district to the west and Mount İdris to the south. Those who want the castle and the town below in a single frame should climb the opposite slopes; the classic photograph of the castle is taken from there. The castle is an open site; some parts may be closed while excavation continues, so check the current situation with the Kalecik Municipality. The surroundings In the town centre you can see the Hasbey, Hamdi, Saray and Tabakhane mosques and the Kazancı Baba Tomb. Kalecik's economy rests on farming and viticulture; the Kalecik karası grape, Kalecik bread and Kalecik çörek are the district's products with geographical indication. When you come down from the castle you can taste that bread and çörek in the market. Six of Kalecik's 57 neighbourhoods are in the centre; Kırıkkale and Elmadağ lie to the east of the district, Akyurt and Çubuk to the west, and Çankırı's Şabanözü district to the north. From Ankara, Kalecik is reached by the road towards Çankırı; for public transport connections to the district, get current information from the Kalecik Municipality.