Yilankale - Snake Castle

We've been in Turkey for more than 10 months now and I'm becoming angry with myself for not getting out and exploring this interesting country. We decided to take a short trip to Yilankale or "Snake Castle." It's only about a 20 minute drive from Incirlik. Here's our turn.

Sign for Snake Castle

From Snake Castle

Before I go much further, I should tell you that we purchased a book called "Caltles, Cay, and Caravanserai." It was written for people living at Incirlik AB by people who lived here. It has a lot of information about day trips and nearby places to visit. Pretty cool. Here's some of what it says about Snake Castle.

"The 13th century Yilankale, with its eight towers, is strategically located on a mountain dominating the Ceyhan plain, and is part of a line of Armenian fortresses that extend to the sea.

According to mythology, Yilankale was home to a ruler who was part man and part snake. He used snakes to enforce his will until his death in Tarsus, where he had gone to kidnap the daughter of that city's king. Another story surrounding the fortress is that it was so infested with snakes that it had to be abandoned.

Although the precise history of the castle is unknown, a study of the architecture suggests that it was built by the Armenian Crown Prince Leo III (1270-1289) not long before his capture by the Arabs in 1266."

View from the Road.

From Snake Castle

We're gettin' closer

From Snake Castle

From Snake Castle

Driving up and around the castle (to the right)

From Snake Castle

From Snake Castle

Continuing around the castle

From Snake Castle

We parked the van at a restaurant parking lot and paid 4 Lira ($2.50). Now it's just a hike away...steep hike I might add. Ricky led the way.

From Snake Castle

The girls and Maggie. Maggie was thrilled to come along. This was her first time off base and exploring Turkey. She did quite well with the steep climb. That was the most exercise she's had in a very long time. The rocks were quite slippery. So much so, in fact, Kylie named it the Slippery Castle. Good call Kylie.

From Snake Castle

Kim and the kids at the first archway.

From Snake Castle

Kylie posing in front of the tree we dubbed the "Tree of Trash". We're not sure what that was about.

From Snake Castle

From Snake Castle

Look. I'm in a picture.

From Snake Castle

And now with Kylie.

From Snake Castle

View of archway from underneath (looking straight up).

From Snake Castle

Another pic of the Tree of Trash.

From Snake Castle

Kim and the kids climbing down...carefully.

From Snake Castle

That's all the pics we have of today's trip. We intended to stay longer, but the climb was a little too demanding for the kids and we came across quite a few teenage boys. The boys didn't speak English, except for a few words. When we got to the top, one of them had a very large knife with approx. an 8 inch blade. I think they were trying to ask for money, but couldn't really understand them. Whether they intended harm or not, Kim and I decided we better just leave. We left and they followed us all the way down to the van. Luckily they wound up not causing any trouble. The interesting thing is they suddenly appeared at the castle when we arrived and they all left as we were leaving. I don't think we'll attempt to go back there with the kids. All that said, it was nice to get out and explore Turkey once again.