İskilip Castle

İskilip Castle, locally known as İskilip Kalesi, lies in the town of the same name, in the province of Çorum in Turkey.

Other than that the castle dates back to Ottoman times, I was not able to find any historical information about İskilip Castle. If you know more, please mail me.

The town itself has already been inhabited since the time of the Hittites. During Ancient Greek and later Roman-Byzantine times, the town was known as Asklepios/Aesculapius and Blocium/Bloacium, respectively. It gained its importance from its location at the crossroads of a route between the Black Sea and the Anatolian interior and a route between Constantinople and Amasya. So, I think that it is highly probable that there were ancient predecessors of the Ottoman castle.

The castle was built on top of a limestone rock, towering some 100 meters above the town center. It is said that there used to be a keep, but no trace of it has remained. It has an irregular plan as its walls follow the outline of the castle rock. Up until recently, the interior of the castle housed a small neighborhood.

İskilip Castle is freely accessible. It looks to have been recently restored. Also, all the residences inside the castle walls, visible on older images, have gone. There was only one derelict residence still standing.

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