Şile Castle

Şile Castle, locally known as Şile Kalesi or less commonly as Ocaklı Ada Kalesi, lies on an island in front of the town of the same name, in the province of Istanbul in Turkey.

Not much is known about the history of Sile Castle. It was probably built as a watchtower by the Byzantine Empire to guard a small harbor. Around 1305 it was taken over by the Genoese. The troops of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I conquered it in 1396.

The castle was built from limestone quarried on the island. It has a square ground plan and had 4 stories. It was repaired 2 times; first in Byzantine times and later under Ottoman rule. Later it was abandoned and fell to ruin. In the 20th century it suffered considerably from digging by illegal treasure hunters.

In 2015 it was restored to its present appearance and its result sparked heavy criticism, after which it was nicknamed 'Sponge Bob Castle' because of its likeness to the cartoon character. In my opinion it has indeed lost its historical appearance and looks like a newly built structure.

At present Şile Castle can not be visited as it is situated on an inaccessible island. It used to be accessible by cable cart. There are now plans to build a walkway to the castle. Even though it looks new, I like the site.

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