Çorum Castle

Çorum Castle, locally known as Çorum Kalesi, lies in the city of the same name, in the province of Çorum in Turkey.

When Çorum Castle was built is unknown. The castle has Seljuk architectural characteristics, which would place its construction somewhere in the 11th or 12th century. Apparently, there is an inscription of the date 1217 in one of the windows up in the west wall.

The castle was first mentioned in 1571. In a document dated 1577 it was referred to as "Sultan Suleyman's Foundation".

The Ottoman explorer Evliya Çelebi visited Çorum in the 17th century and described the castle, writing that it was built by the Seljuk Sultan Kilij Arslan. There are however 4 sultans with that name, who ruled between 1092 and 1265.

Çorum Castle was built on a slight elevation in the landscape. It has a square plan with round corner towers and rectangular bastions amidst the curtain walls. There are 2 entrances; the main gate in the north wall and a postern gate in the south wall, which has been walled up. It is built out of rubble stones and dressed stone, with numerous Roman and Byzantine spolia.

The interior of the castle used to house a small neighborhood. Directly behind the main gate is the castle mosque.

Only the exterior of Çorum Castle can be visited, as there is a locked door after the main gate. Too bad, I was very curious about the interior. The neighborhood around the castle looked a bit rundown.

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