Ünye Kalesi

Ünye Castle stands on a rocky hill about five kilometres south-east of the centre of Ünye, rising on the left of the road at the seventh kilometre of the highway between Ünye and Niksar. It lies within Kale neighbourhood and is also popularly known as Çaleoğlu Castle. The Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism states that the castle has a history of about 2500 years. According to Wikipedia, the name Çaleoğlu is thought to derive from an Ottoman local lord who once held the castle. The castle is thought to have been used in the Pontic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods. It is also recorded that it once served as a place of retreat. According to tradition, the castle was conquered by the Danishmendid ruler Yağıbasan. Because it stands very high above its surroundings, it was used as a fortified position in the 11th and 12th centuries. The castle's most striking feature is that most of it consists of a single mass of rock. The walls and parapets built on the steep, hard-to-reach slopes have largely survived intact. The castle is entered from the south-east, and the gate reaches a height of about five metres. Ministry sources write that studies have strengthened the possibility that this gate was built in the reign of the Pontic king Mithridates II. On the entrance side, about ten metres above the ground, there is a tomb carved into the rock. The tomb is about three metres wide and two metres high and has a four-columned facade in front. An eagle relief sits at each of the three corners of the triangular pediment, and the one at the right end is the best preserved. This rock tomb is the first detail you should look up at as you climb towards the castle. Near the summit there are two tunnels descending north-westwards at a slope of about 45 degrees, and a cistern. One of the tunnels is small and the other much larger, and when the excavations began it was not yet known where the large tunnel led. The sections of the tunnels that had filled with stones were cleared during the restoration work. In local accounts some parts of the castle are referred to by names such as the royal tombs, the temple rooms and the queen's pool. During the restoration and cleaning work carried out at the castle in 2009, walls whose stones had fallen were repaired, and tombs of the inner citadel and sarcophagi were found under the rubble. Wikipedia records that bones taken from the tombs were damaged by careless handling in this work, which was done without archaeologists present. In work that resumed in 2018, coins, pottery and cannonballs from different periods were recovered. According to press reports, the restoration was planned in four stages, and ownership of the castle passed to Ünye Municipality after a long legal process. After about six years of work, the castle reopened to visitors on 3 June 2025. In the renewed castle, walking paths and landscaping were added, and a rail system was installed so that visitors can descend to the bottom of the large tunnel. The length of the tunnel is given differently in the sources; Wikipedia mentions about 250 metres, while the mayor's statement speaks of 234 metres. Because the provincial directorate's page states that the castle was closed for restoration in 2022, it is a good idea to ask the operator about the current opening status and visiting conditions before your visit. The castle is reached by car in a few minutes from the centre of Ünye on the road towards Niksar, and there is room for vehicles at its foot. The climb from the foot towards the summit is stepped and steep, so wear comfortable shoes and take water with you. From the top of the castle a wide view opens over the Ünye coast and the surrounding slopes covered with hazelnut orchards. Those who want to photograph the whole castle from below should look at the rock mass from the bends of the road as they approach. Returning to the centre of Ünye after the castle to explore the town's historic houses and shoreline rounds off the day.