Sarıkavak Kalesi

There is a long excursion track. Intertwined with nature. Recommended for casual walking ?

The castle is pleasant to climb to the top, it is difficult to see in the destroyed trees The wooden bridge is blown away rotten The place where the 16 ----- 17 sign is at the bottom of the castle

On the last day of 2020, we came from the Çengilli Village of Şile, passed through the Hasanlı Village Central District and came to the Sarıkavak District in a sunny day with the threat of coronavirus. We parked our car on a 160 m altitude dirt road at the end of the neighborhood's houses at the end of Mihver Sokak. Neither on the route we came, nor in the neighborhood, we did not find the slightest sign indicating the castle. For this reason, we learned from the villagers we encountered there that the castle standing right in front of us was on the top of a hill covered with trees about 400 m ahead. We reached the 60-70 altitude Darlık Creek by taking the dirt road going down to the creek between the hill and our location. There was a walking trail track sign that was erected by the stream as a project implementation supported by the European Union. When we could not find a place to cross the stream, we took our shoes and walked, but the water was very cold. I would never have guessed that the cold could hurt so much even in a stream 4-5 meters wide. Darlık Stream forms the borders of Hasanlı and Yaka Village. We walked after climbing the creek. If there were no leaves falling on the paths in the forest of oak trees due to winter, we probably wouldn't have found the castle or something. Going out to a square is very tiring when you are a bit overweight and old like us. Even though we went horizontally and extended the road a little, it made us breathe. Finally, we climbed from somewhere perpendicular to the hill. When we saw the silhouette of the castle from afar, we forgot our tiredness. We were near the rather ruined tower on the south side, at an altitude of 210 m. I saw three white flowers with two or three stem halves in bud like a shy and delicate young girl. At the bottom of the tower, there were two pits with wider mouths, about three meters deep, dug by treasure hunters. Almost all of the walls of the castle, extending in the direction of Sarıkavak, were destroyed. The tower we encountered when we moved from the left side looked as if it had never been spoiled. Some parts of the tower on the north side of it were destroyed. We measured the altitude of this side of the fort as 220 meters. Some wall remains can still be seen in that area. It is very difficult to take pictures because of the oak saplings that surround everywhere. The area of ​​the castle was about 3-4 acres. Of course, the descent was easier, we had to climb after the main stream to the village. When our exploration, which took about 3.5 hours, was over, I didn't have a sweat-dry place left on me. We went on the road to Teke Village through the Demircili neighborhood of Hasanlı and returned home.

A very nice place close to Istanbul very suitable for camping, two descending valleys in the valley birlesiyor.alan grassy and clean woods in the forest problem. If you want to walk in the valley of both valleys are beautiful and long walk along the edge of the stream. Each vehicle goes 5 km dirt road up to 10 km from Hasanlı bay.

It's a nice walking route, but before we go up to the castle, we decided to return to the village by a short road. This route was also on the map. But the sign of the mentioned point was not where it should be and we had to walk an extra 4 km...

The track is of medium difficulty. Information and signs are sufficient. It looks like 7.5 km, but if you walk around and see the historical mill between the signs no. 3-4, the inside of the castle on the hill, etc., it is a track of about 10 km. We, 4 friends, had a lot of fun and completed the track. Only after you see the last 25-26 sign, you have to reach the village, that is, the starting point, not from the main road, but from the slope on the left of the main road about 100 meters after the signboard. Pay attention here, if you miss it, you will find yourself in a different village. We did it, you don't :) Also, the sign no 22 is a little behind because the road is broken. You can't see it, look around carefully and you will see it among the trees. I hope these track signs are not damaged, as it was a very nice track. God bless hands of eveyone who contributed.

The track is a bit challenging but enjoyable... There are places where you can get good photos... Even camping can be done on flat land areas... Not much remains of the castle, except for the north wall. There are pits for treasure inside the castle, be careful... It was fun! I would also recommend you to stop by the old mill 1km away... It has a mystical atmosphere!