Kilitbahir Castle (
Turkish: ''Kilitbahir Kalesi'') is a
fortress
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
on the west side of the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
, opposite the city of
Çanakkale, where there is a corresponding fortress (''
Kale-i Sultaniye''), from which Çanakkale takes its name. The two castles were constructed by
Fatih Sultan Mehmet
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
in 1463 to control the straits at their narrowest point. Kilitbahir's name, meaning "lock of the sea", reflects this defensive purpose.
[Kevin Fewster, Vecihi Başarin, Hatice Hürmüz Başarin. ''A Turkish view of Gallipoli: Çanakkale'', p. 34. Hodja, 1985. ]
References
Gallery
File:Kilitbahircastle.jpg
File:Kilitbahircastlegeometry.jpg
File:Kilitbahir Castle 3.jpg
External links
Kilitbahir pictures group on Flickr
{{Turkey-castle-stub
Ottoman fortifications
Forts in Turkey
Dardanelles
Buildings and structures in Çanakkale Province
Buildings and structures completed in 1463