Sığacık Castle

Sığacık Castle, locally known as Sığacık Kalesi, lies at the harbor of the village of Sığacık, in the province of Izmir in Turkey.

Sığacık Castle was built between 1521 and 1522 by Parlak Mustafa Paşa, an Ottoman navy commander, in preparation of the Siege of Rhodes by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Building the castle was proposed to the Sultan by Piri Reis, an Ottoman admiral.

The castle was built near the ancient Greek city of Teos and probably the Teos ruins were used as a source of building materials. Later, when Sığacık Castle itself fell into ruin, it was also used as a quarry. The castle has a triangular ground plan with 2 towers at its corners.

A nice ruin and freely accessible. When I visited, there was a very pleasant, Sunday village market going on. The village itself is also picturesque and still retains large stretches of its town walls, which are contemporary with the castle.

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