Zil Castle

Zil Castle, locally known as Zil Kale, lies north of the hamlet of Şenköy, in the province of Rize in Turkey.

The castle is thought to have been built during the 14th, or the beginning of the 15th century. In that time this mountainous area was maybe nominally Byzantine territory, but in reality the Byzantines probably only controlled the coast. The mountains and canyons inland were the land of the Lord Arhakel of the Hemshin people, and they probably were quite autonomous. In the canyon of the Fırtına River, it was probably them who built the castles of Zil and Kale-i Bala. Through the canyon ran a trade route leading up to a mountain pass in the direction of Erzurum.

Zil Castle was built on a rocky outcrop above the canyon of the whitewater river, some 40 km inland, at a height of some 750 meters above sea level. Kale-i Bala Castle is situated in the upper reaches of the canyon. Therefore, Zil is now sometimes also called Aşağı Kale (Lower Castle) and Kale-i-Bala, Yukarı Kale (Upper Castle). Its present name Zil, meaning 'bell' in Turkish, is a corruption of its earlier name Zir, meaning 'lower' in the local dialect.

In the late 15th century, the region was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, after which the castle was taken into use by the Ottomans themselves. During the 16th century, it was still garrisoned by some 25 to 40 soldiers. It was abandoned in the end of the 19th century.

Zil Castle can be visited for a small fee. A great castle with a mighty keep. A visit will take a winding dead-end drive through the canyon, alongside the whitewater river, passing by multiple medieval Ottoman single-arch stone bridges. I also advise you to drive the extra distance to visit Kale-i Bala Castle. All-in-all: recommended!

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