HistoryTrabzon Castle (Ortahisar walls)
about 15–20 min on foot from the hotel · 1.2–1.3 km
The old city of Trabzon sits on the rock between the Tabakhane and Zağnos valleys. The walls are divided into the Upper Citadel, the Middle Citadel and the Lower Citadel; inside them you will also find the Ortahisar Fatih Mosque. It is not a castle with a single gate but a neighbourhood you explore street by street.
Good to know before you go
It is built in Ortahisar on the high mass of rock between the Tabakhane and Zağnos valleys; the castle consists of the Upper Citadel, the Inner Castle, the Middle Citadel and the Lower Citadel.
Source: kulturportali.gov.tr, tr.wikipedia.org
According to the Culture Portal, the oldest part of the walls goes back to the 4th century BC and Xenophon mentions their existence; the city’s name is thought to come from the trapezoid (trapezius) shape of the oldest part.
Source: kulturportali.gov.tr
The walls of the Upper Citadel carry repairs from the reign of Justinian I (527–565); the Middle and Lower Citadels are associated with the building works of the reign of Alexios II (1287/1297–1330).
Source: tr.wikipedia.org
Above the gate of the Moloz Bastion in the Lower Citadel there is an inscription with a tughra stating that it was built by Mehmed the Conqueror.
Source: tr.wikipedia.org
The castle area has included the Ortahisar Fatih Mosque (the former Panagia Chrysokephalos Church), the Yeni Cuma Mosque, the Zağnos Bridge and various Ottoman bathhouses.
Source: tr.wikipedia.org
Getting there from the hotel
about 15–20 min on foot · 1.2–1.3 km
Walk west along Uzun Sokak; once you cross the Tabakhane Valley you are in Ortahisar.
Open directions in Google MapsWalking times: Google Maps walking route. Measured: October 1, 2026.
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