Kilitbahir Castle Museum to reopen in New Year

Kilitbahir Castle was built in 1462 on the European side of the Çanakkale Strait under the supervision of Yakup Bey, the Sanjak Bey of Gallipoli, to prevent European states from aiding the Byzantine Empire. Designed by the renowned architect of the time, Muslihiddin, the fortress has been serving as a castle museum with its renewed appearance since 2018.

Maintenance and restoration works on the castle began on Oct. 1 under the supervision of the Gallipoli Historical Site Authority of the Çanakkale Wars. As part of the works, vegetation on the surfaces of the castle walls and the upper walkways was removed using mechanical and chemical methods, and the process of cleaning substandard mortar and joint repairs on the original materials was initiated.

In the 562-year-old castle, shaped with finely cut stones and rubble masonry and built in 120 days, wooden staircases at the entrance gate of the main tower (a courtyard), the wooden walkway in front of the main tower and the wooden transition stairs in the inner courtyard were renewed due to detected decay and damage.

Inside the main tower, deficiencies in the wooden stairs will be completed, and decayed railings will be replaced. Wooden bridges in the moat surrounding the castle, where issues such as sagging, deformation and decay in the wood were observed, will also be repaired.

In the seven-story castle, which has an aerial view resembling a "three-leaf clover," the restoration of the stone wall revealed after cleaning is ongoing.

İsmail Kaşdemir, Head of the Gallipoli Historical Site Authority of the Çanakkale Wars, said that Kilitbahir Castle is one of the guardians of the Çanakkale Strait, a legacy of Fatih Sultan Mehmed, a veteran...