Boselt Castle

Boselt Castle, locally known as Boselt Kalesi or sometimes as Şerbiyet/Şatberdi Kalesi or Kaleyle, lies on a rocky crag southwest of the village of Okumuşlar, in the province of Artvin in Turkey.

Boselt Castle was probably built in the 9th century when the area was part of the historical Georgian province of Klarjeti, according to legend by a Georgian king in memory of his daughter. The castle was accompanied by a settlement, on the site of the present village, that served as a trade center for the area.

Near the castle and village are also the ruins of the Şatberdi Monastery. It is thought that the castle's purpose was to defend that monastic site. There are supposed to be underground tunnels in the rock beneath the castle.

At present Boselt Castle is inaccessible. That is to say; I could not find any safe path to it. Too bad, it looks very promising. If you are going to Okumuşlar be prepared for a long mountainous drive, because the older, short routes have been flooded after the creation of the Deriner Reservoir.

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