Çanakkale Kilitbahir Castle Museum

Çanakkale Kilitbahir Castle Museum

It was built by Fatih Sultan Mehmed, together with Çimenlik Castle (of Kal'a-i Sultâniyye) in order to keep the sea passage under control on the Rumeli side of the Dardanelles. Tursun Bey, one of the historians of the period, writes that after the conquest of Istanbul, two castles were built opposite each other in the Eceovası area, which is the narrowest part of the Bosphorus, one was named Kilîdü'lbahr and the other Sultaniye, and cannons were placed in these castles.

While talking about the events of 1463 in his book, Kritovulos Historia, he states that the Naval Commander Yâkub Bey, who was the Governor of Gallipoli and Bolayır, was commissioned with the construction of these castles, and while describing the events of 1464-65, the construction was completed.

Kilitbahir Castle Museum is a museum where Ottoman castle life is exhibited in general.

The main areas of visit:

The yellow tower (Sarı kule)

Late period courtyard (Hisar peçe)

Piri Reis

The inner tower (İç kule)

Ground floor: history of the Castle

1. Floor: Defense

2. Floor: Eating and drinking

3. Floor: Commercial

4. Floor: Worship

5. Floor: The excavation floor.

The yellow tower (Sarı kule)

During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, Kilitbahir Castle was repaired, surrounded by walls and the Yellow Tower was added. It is understood from the inscription in two lines and two couplets placed on the door of the tower that the tower was built in 1541. In this section where Ottoman castles are explained; Ottoman castle architecture, castle structural equipment, organizational structure, engravings of Ottoman castles in Europe, defense weapons, trade and daily life were revived.

Late Period Courtyard (Hisar Peçe)

It is a front defense place added to increase the defense of the castle during the repairs carried out during the Reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In this courtyard, the remains of the late period headquarters building and artillery animation can be seen.

Piri Reis Section

In the section organized in memory of the famous Turkish sailor Piri Reis, who served in Kilitbahir Castle for a while, our visitors can see the famous world map of Piri Reis in comparison with today's map, as well as the naval equipment of the period.

The inner tower (İç kule)

The Inner Tower, located in the center of Kilitbahir Castle, has a triangular plan and is the last structure used in defense. Consisting of 7 floors, the Tower was used for shelter and storage. In addition, a triangular-plan cistern is located under the entrance. The first floor is reached by a stone staircase. The stairs connecting the other floors are made of wood. There are toilets and stoves built on the same axis on each floor. Large arched openings in the floors have turned into narrow culvert windows on the tower exteriors. The tower, which has a height of 27 meters, is entered through a low-arched door from the courtyard in the east. The top of the tower is covered with a brick triangular cross vault. Although a part of the Inner Tower was destroyed during the Battle of Çanakkale in 1915, it has survived in its original form as a result of the restoration made in the 1960s. The wooden floors, which were completely destroyed during the restoration works carried out in 2012, were rebuilt in accordance with the original.

Our visitors are in the Inner Tower respectively:

Ground Floor: In this section, they can get information about the construction of the castle, repairs, and additions over the years, and see period engravings and coins.

The Defensive Floor: In this section, they can get information about the defenses of the castles and see the defensive works.

Food and Beverage Floor: In this section, our visitors can see the reenactments and artifacts related to the food and drink culture of the period.

Trading Floor: They can see the animations and artifacts related to the commercial life that developed around the Castle of Kilitbahir.

The floor of Worship: They can see the revivals and artifacts intended for worship in the castle.

Excavation Floor: They can see the artifacts unearthed during the archaeological excavations during the exhibition and arrangement works.