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A Day at Kalecik Castle and on the Banks of the Kızılırmak
Cultural

A Day at Kalecik Castle and on the Banks of the Kızılırmak

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Seventy-one kilometres northeast of Ankara, on the road to Çankırı, there is a small district town; in its middle a steep rock, on top of the rock a castle, and to its east the Kızılırmak, Turkey's longest river.

Kalecik, Ankara
Cultural
Radar Editör
September 30, 2026

About Trip

Seventy-one kilometres northeast of Ankara, on the road to Çankırı, there is a small district town; in its middle a steep rock, on top of the rock a castle, and to its east the Kızılırmak, Turkey's longest river. Kalecik takes its name from this castle, and the rock can be seen from every street of the town. According to the Directorate of Culture and Tourism, settlement here goes back to the Chalcolithic Age, that is the fourth millennium BC; the castle is said to have been founded by the Galatians, repaired by the Romans, taken by the Seljuks in 1075 and kept alive by the Ottomans as a busy sub-district attached to the sanjak of Çankırı. Today Kalecik, with its vineyards, its seven-arched stone bridge over the Kızılırmak and its castle looking down from above, is one of the quietest places to visit on a day trip from Ankara.

Getting there

According to the Ankara Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, Kalecik lies 71 kilometres northeast of Ankara; the district centre stands at 725 metres. With your own car, follow the highway from Ankara towards Çankırı; Kalecik Municipality describes the castle as one of the most important fortresses on the road to Çankırı, and the district centre lies on that road. For public transport, check the current departure point and times of the bus and minibus routes from Ankara to Kalecik before you set out. The Irmak-Zonguldak railway passes through the district and Kalecik Station, opened on 23 April 1931, still belongs to the TCDD, but according to Wikipedia no passenger train stops there today; do not plan to come by train. As soon as you enter the town the castle rock appears before you; it is a place small enough to reach every corner on foot from the central square.

The history of the castle and the town

According to the history published by the District Governorate, Kalecik and its surroundings form a very old area of settlement going back to around 4000 BC; remains have been found showing that the Proto-Hittites lived in the area in that period. The Ankara Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism dates the first settlement to the Chalcolithic Age, around 3500-4000 BC, and writes that Hittites, Phrygians, Galatians, Romans and Byzantines followed one another. According to Kalecik Municipality, the castle was first founded by the Galatians around 275 BC and was repaired and used by the Romans. The District Governorate, for its part, states that the castle is thought to have been built in Roman or Byzantine times and that no exact date can be given, since it has no inscription. The municipality notes that the researcher W. Ramsay mentions a city named Acitorizacum in ancient geography and identifies Kalecik as Eçelriga.

After the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 Turkish settlement in Anatolia began, and in 1075 Kalecik Castle passed into the hands of the Seljuk Turks. After the dissolution of the Seljuk state the region was ruled by the Candaroğulları, also known as the İsfendiyaroğulları. According to the District Governorate, Kalecik Castle joined the Ottoman lands together with Ankara in the reign of Yıldırım Bayezid; the Directorate of Culture and Tourism, on the other hand, records Mongol rule in the region after the Battle of Kösedağ in 1243 and the final Ottoman incorporation in 1461, when Fatih Sultan Mehmet put an end to the Candaroğulları principality. In the Ottoman centuries Kalecik long lived as a sub-district attached to the sanjak of Çankırı and grew into a developed town; Evliya Çelebi mentions its name in his Seyahatname, and tanning, coppersmithing and cloth weaving were the developed crafts of the period. The Directorate of Culture and Tourism writes that the comparison "Little Egypt" was used for the town's place in trade. In the War of Independence the district gave logistical support to the national forces; in 1925 Atatürk visited the district.

Climbing the castle

The castle stands on a steep rock 150-160 metres high in the middle of the town. According to the District Governorate's description, the walls were built of piled stone and most of them are in ruins; the entrance is arched, with a cylindrical tower on either side, and the door leaves are gone, only their positions still visible. Inside are sections that served as cellars or cisterns for the water supply, a burial chamber with a vaulted roof built with lime mortar, and the remains of the channel that brought water to the castle. The municipality writes that the cellar was once very deep, that over the centuries it filled with stone and earth, and that buildings clustered around it. You climb to the top from inside the town; the ascent is short but steep and needs sturdy shoes. Up there a flag flies, and the view explains by itself what the castle was built for: according to the municipality, thanks to its height the castle was used to control the trade routes, the banks of the Kızılırmak and the fertile farmland. Looking north and east you see the river's green ribbon across the plain, to the west Karbasan Dağı and to the south İdris Dağı. It is best to photograph the castle from below in the morning light and the town from the top in the late afternoon. There are no railings everywhere on the walls and at the edges of the rock; keep children close and do not approach the edge on windy days.

The Kızılırmak and the stone bridge

The Kızılırmak valley runs the length of the district from north to south; along the river lie the flat lands of the plain, to the west and south mountainous and rugged terrain. One of Kalecik's finest historic structures stands over this river: Kalecik Bridge, 10 kilometres from the district centre, also known as the Kızılırmak Bridge or the Develioğlu Bridge. According to Wikipedia its construction date is not known for certain because it has no inscription; its architecture suggests the Seljuk period. In the last quarter of the 19th century Hacı İbrahim Ağa of the Develioğlu family, from the village of Dikmen in Balışeyh, had the bridge thoroughly repaired; the hammer relief regarded as the signature of the stonemason Tirkuşlu remains on the left parapet wall. The seven-arched cut-stone bridge is 136 metres long and 3.4 metres wide; the spans grow from the edges towards the middle, the widest span is 14 metres and there are nine piers. Maintained in 1967 and 1987, the bridge is open only to pedestrians today. According to one account, Yıldırım Bayezid used this bridge during the Battle of Ankara and had part of it demolished to stop the enemy crossing; the sources pass this on as a story, not as established fact. Choose the morning or late-afternoon light to stand on the bridge and watch the river's bend and the slopes opposite. The municipality's list of historic sites also includes a historic suspension bridge in the Buğra neighbourhood; if you follow the bank you will see the river's different crossings within the district. Do not swim at the riverbank; the current is strong, the shore muddy and the depth deceptive.

The town's mosques, mansions and museum

Kalecik's old fabric gathers at the foot of the castle. The District Governorate and the Directorate of Culture and Tourism count the Hasbey, Saray, Tabakhane and Hamdi mosques and the tombs of Kazancı Baba and Alişoğlu among the principal historic monuments; according to the municipality's list, the Saray Mosque is also known as Şehsuvar, the Hasbey Mosque as Çarşı and the Hamdi Mosque as Mecidiye, and the Gökçeören Mosque and the tombs of Dokuzlar (Davud Dede) and Geyikli Baba are on the list too. The mosques are part of the town's urban history; take off your shoes and keep quiet when you go in. The municipality's list also counts old houses such as the Karahan Mansion and Museum, the Hacı Abdullah Aksoy Mansion, the Şükrü Ağa Mansion and the Muhabbet Mansion in Atatürk Park, the historic municipal buildings and the courthouse, and an open-air history museum of the Roman and Byzantine period; the rock tombs in the Yeşilöz neighbourhood are another ancient trace to be seen outside the town. Kalecik Bazaar is what remains today of the trading town that Evliya Çelebi described with its tanneries, coppersmiths and weavers. The days and hours on which the mansions and the museum are open may change; check the municipality's page before you go.

Kalecik karası

There is also a grape that carries the town's name far afield: Kalecik karası. According to Wikipedia it is counted among the oldest grape varieties of Anatolia and takes its name from the place where it grows, the district of Kalecik; although Kalecik is the centre of production, it is also grown in Denizli, Yozgat and Nevşehir. Its berries are blue verging on black, medium-sized and seeded; its bunches are dense, winged and conical, averaging 150 grams. The vines bud in April, flower at the end of May and the fruit ripens in mid-September; the vines come into yield at least three years after planting. The variety, which had almost disappeared by the 1980s, was brought back to life through rescue work and was registered as a geographical indication by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office in 2006. According to the Kalecik Vocational School, 42 percent of the district's land is suitable for farming and viticulture is one of the important branches of the district's agriculture; this vocational school of Ankara University teaches viticulture. Every September the municipality holds the Kalecik Karası Grape Festival, and there is a statue of a Woman Treading Grapes in the town. If you come in mid-September you will catch the harvest and the festival; confirm the festival date from the municipality's announcements.

A Galatian fortress on the way

Coming from Ankara or on the way back, 20 kilometres before Kalecik you can stop at Blucium near the village of Karalar. According to Wikipedia this was a fortress of the Tolistobogii, one of the three great Galatian tribes, and is known as the residence of the Galatian ruler Deiotarus, whom the Roman orator Cicero defended before Caesar; Strabo and Cicero refer to the place by different names. The site, 86 kilometres from the centre of Ankara, is listed in Turkey's register of ancient settlements as an archaeological site of the castle type. What there is to see is not a museum but the traces of walls on the hilltop and the steppe view; go in daylight with sturdy shoes, and do not move the stones.

Season and time of day

Kalecik stands at 725 metres, a little lower than Ankara and in the river valley; the Kalecik Vocational School writes that the district has a microclimate of its own. May and June, when the vineyards turn green, and September, the time of the harvest and the festival, are the fullest months. Avoid the summer midday for climbing the castle; go up early in the morning, spend midday in the bazaar and on the riverbank by the bridge, and look at the castle again in the late afternoon. In winter the rock and the steps can ice over.

Practical notes

  • There are no railings everywhere on the castle; do not approach the edge of the rock and keep children close.
  • Kalecik Bridge is open only to pedestrians; cross the river by car on the road bridge.
  • The dates of the mansions, the museum and the festival change; get up-to-date information from the page of Kalecik Municipality.
  • There is no access by train; for public transport, check bus and minibus times in advance.
  • When walking between vineyards and fields, do not enter private land and do not pick grapes.

Sources

Location - A Day at Kalecik Castle and on the Banks of the Kızılırmak

Trip Info
CityKalecik, Ankara
TypeCultural
DateSeptember 30, 2026
SourceRadar Editör
Radar TürkiyeAuthorRadar TürkiyeVisit SourceGet Directions