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A photograph of Yoros Castle
Photograph · Moonik · CC BY-SA 3.0

Historic site · Beykoz, Istanbul

Yoros Castle

Yoros Kalesi

Open today, 09:00 – 17:00
Today
Open today, 09:00 – 17:00
Visit duration
45 min Editorial visit time estimate
Accessibility
Not step-free
Price
Not recorded
Standing
High
Rank
Rank 556 of 8,221
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Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor

Plan your visit.

Opening hours

Monday 09:00 – 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 – 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 – 17:00
Thursday 09:00 – 17:00
Friday 09:00 – 17:00
Saturday 09:00 – 17:00
Sunday 09:00 – 17:00

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Admission

Not recorded

Access and facilities

  • Accessible toilets · Not available
  • Pushchair access · Not available
  • Step-free access · Not available
  • Toilets · Available

Source · Checked 2026-08-31

A photograph of Yoros Castle
Photograph · Mark Ahsmann · CC BY-SA 3.0

About Yoros Castle

Yoros Castle stands on the headland where the Bosphorus opens into the Black Sea, which is the whole explanation for it. Whoever held this hill controlled the entrance to the strait, and the site has been fortified and refortified for that reason for the better part of two thousand years. Before the walls there were Greek temples: remains dedicated to Dios, to the Altar of the Twelve Gods, and to Zeus Ourios, Zeus the granter of fair winds. The Greeks called the place Hieron, the Sacred Place.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

A photograph of Yoros Castle
Photograph · Mark Ahsmann · CC BY-SA 3.0

What's inside

Bayezid II added a mosque inside the walls during his reign from 1481 to 1512. Osman III strengthened it again between 1754 and 1757, and in 1783 Abdülhamid I added further watchtowers. Very little of that programme survives. The ruins of the citadel and its surrounding walls still stand, but the mosque, most of the towers and the other structures have been lost.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

How long to spend

Forty-five minutes at the site itself, and that figure deliberately excludes the ferry and the climb up from the village, which are the larger part of the day. Because the courtyard and the towers are fenced, the visit is a circuit of the outside of the walls, the surviving gate elevation, and time at the Black Sea viewpoint — and forty-five minutes covers that without hurrying.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Season and crowds

The exterior ruins and public viewpoint are accessible during daylight; fenced archaeological and military-controlled sections remain closed.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Tickets

The public exterior viewpoint is free. The exterior ruins and public viewpoint are accessible during daylight; fenced archaeological and military-controlled sections remain closed.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

A photograph of Yoros Castle
Photograph · Mark Ahsmann · CC BY-SA 3.0

Getting there

Şehir Hatları Long Bosphorus Tour reaches Anadolu Kavağı; from the pier, walk roughly 25-30 minutes steeply uphill or take a local taxi. Use the named entrance or stop because hills, security and historic streets change the approach.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

What to watch out for

A steep hill, rough tracks, broken masonry and uneven viewpoint ground provide no complete step-free route. Historic surfaces, crowds and security remain relevant. The exterior ruins and public viewpoint are accessible during daylight; fenced archaeological and military-controlled sections remain closed.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Photography

The picture at Yoros is not the castle, it is what the castle is looking at. From the headland the Bosphorus runs out and stops, and the Black Sea opens beyond it — a geography photograph rather than an architecture one, and it works best in the morning when the haze over the water has not yet thickened. Include a stretch of wall in the foreground and the composition explains itself.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Place details and sources

Type of place
Attraction OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Established
1262 Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Architectural style
Byzantine architecture Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Wikipedia article
Yoros Castle Wikipedia · Checked 2026-09-09

Common questions

Is it free?

Yes, the public exterior viewpoint is free.

Can visitors enter all ruins?

No. The exterior ruins and public viewpoint are accessible during daylight, but fenced archaeological and military-controlled sections remain closed.

Is it wheelchair accessible?

No. A steep hill, rough tracks, broken masonry and uneven viewpoint ground provide no complete step-free route.

Is the walk steep?

Yes. From the Anadolu Kavağı pier, the walk takes roughly 25-30 minutes steeply uphill; a local taxi is the alternative.

Can the Bosphorus tour reach it?

Yes. The Şehir Hatları Long Bosphorus Tour reaches Anadolu Kavağı below the castle.

Are sturdy shoes useful?

Yes. Sturdy shoes help on the steep hill, rough tracks, broken masonry and uneven viewpoint ground.

Where it is

Open directions in Google Maps

Nearby

Within 51 min on foot
  • Midilli Ali Reis Mosque 30 min
    9 min walk · Beykoz

    Midilli Ali Reis Mosque

    • Notable
    • Place of worship
  • Canfeda Hatun Mosque (Beykoz) 30 min
    38 min walk · Beykoz

    Canfeda Hatun Mosque (Beykoz)

    • Notable
    • Place of worship
  • Garipçe Tower 45 min
    51 min walk · Sarıyer

    Garipçe Tower

    • Notable
    • Historic site

In Beykoz

Same category

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Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·