Kadıkalesi Castle

Kadıkalesi Castle, locally known as Kadıkalesi or Kadı Kalesi, lies on a low mound, in the town of Soğucak, in the province of Aydιn in Turkey.

The mound, on which Kadıkalesi Castle was built, was the site of almost continuous habitation since the Early Bronze Age.

In classical antiquity the mound would have been a small offshore island or peninsula, but over the centuries the area silted up. At present, it lies some 200 meters from the seafront. At that time, the settlement was known as Anaia.

Kadιkalesi Castle was built during the 12th century by the Komnenoi Emperors of the Byzantine Empire to protect Anaia against the attacks of advancing Turkish tribes. It was built over the foundations over buildings already on the mound and incorporated a church and a monastery, as Anaia was the seat of a bishopric.

In 1261, it was turned over to the Genoese in the Treaty of Nymphaeum. In the following decades the castle and surrounding area were owned by the Genoese, Venetians and Catalans until the early 1300s when it was captured by the Turks.

During the 14th century, Kadıkalesi Castle was in hands of the Aydınoglu Emirate and in the 15th century became Ottoman property.

At present, Kadıkalesi Castle is the site of an ongoing multiple-year archaeological excavation since 2001. It is therefore not accessible. Although, on the internet, I found information that it might be visited as part of a tour from the nearby holiday town of Kuşadasι. It does look very promising.

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