Istanbul, Türkiye
High above the meeting point of the Bosphorus and the Black Sea, Yoros Castle stands as a silent witness to the passage of centuries. Its thick stone walls, tinted rose by the ancient mortar, tell a story that stretches back nearly a thousand years.
Yoros traces its origins to the era of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire, when the fortress was built to protect the waterway leading to the legendary city of Constantinople. Long before that, the Greeks regarded these lands as sacred, erecting temples here to gods such as Apollo and Zeus, and believing the region was blessed with favourable winds. Some say the name Yoros derives from the Greek word for mountain, or perhaps from its former sacred significance.
Whoever held Yoros controlled the ships travelling between the Black Sea and the imperial capital. Throughout the centuries, the castle changed hands many times. In the final years of the Middle Ages, it was seized by Genoese merchants, who reinforced the fortifications, marked them with their family crests, and restored the towers. The Ottomans captured the castle in the early fifteenth century, turning it into a strategic outpost where navigation rules and taxes for Black Sea journeys were enforced for a time.
The castle’s architecture reveals the story of its many rulers. The soft pink hue of the mortar is due to special volcanic materials. Today, the remains of thick ramparts rise from the grassy hilltop, some bearing Turkish, Greek, and Genoese carvings.
Life within the castle walls once bustled with soldiers, sailors, and guards going about their daily routines—ready to defend against attack, yet also gathering in the small mosque, the Turkish bath, or the tall watchtowers. Ottoman records note that a small neighbourhood, with about twenty-five households, existed inside the fortress during their rule.
Much of Yoros now lies in ruins. Only a few towers and the eastern gateway still stand. Ancient Greek inscriptions can still be distinguished on some stones. Certain areas remain off-limits due to military use, but the view from the hill—always windswept and rich with echoes of history—is truly memorable. Archaeological digs at the site have uncovered many relics, adding new chapters to the fascinating story of this castle by the sea.
Listen to this and other guides in app
