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. There is a tale that during a siege the attackers sent thousands of goats, with lit candles secured upon their heads, up to the castle during the night. The defenders, thinking that a big army was storming their castle, fled the castle. 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 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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