Keçi Castle

Keçi Castle, locally known as Keçi Kalesi, lies atop a mountain, northwest of the village of Belevi, in the province of Izmir in Turkey.

Keçi Castle was built under Byzantine rule, somewhere between the 7th and 13th century. Although I also found one source claiming it was built under Seljuk rule around 1350. But due to its masonry I think it is indeed Byzantine in origin. I could not find any other historical information. If you know more, please mail me.

In 1995 the castle was restored. The west curtain wall has collapsed and is now a pile of rubble. This must have happened rather recent because on the internet I found color pictures of it still standing. Maybe this happened after an earthquake? Can anyone tell me?

The name Keçi Castle translates to Goat Castle. As with several other castles in Turkey; there is a tale about a siege where goats with candles secured to their horns played a part. In this particular tale the goats were sent up the hill to successfully scare off the defenders. A nice tale but I suspect the name has more to do with the position of the castle, high on top of a rocky mountain.

A beautiful and freely accessible ruin. Getting to the castle will take a strenuous walk of about an hour uphill over a small path. The beginning of the path is a bit hard to find and at some points the path itself also. But it's definitely worth it. Recommended.

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