Yoztarla Castle

Yoztarla Castle, locally known as Yoztarla Kalesi, lies in the forest north of the village of Akpınar, in the province of Kırklareli in Turkey. Sometimes it is also called Balkaya Kalesi, due to it being near a village of that name.

I have not been able to find any historical information about this castle, other than that it was probably built by the Ottomans to house a small force to provide security for the area.

Yoztarla Castle has a square ground plan with 2 hexagonal towers at opposite corners. In the same area there is also Ceneviz Castle. It has exactly the same layout, only on a slightly larger scale. Ceneviz is definitely contemporary and built by the same builders.

At present Yoztarla Castle is freely accessible. It is situated just some 50 meters from the main road but very ruinous and rather overgrown, so it is hard to see. Mind the cows that are walking around there and beware of pits made by illegal treasure hunters.

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