Our next stop was Kızkalesi, where we visited its fortress rising from an island 250m offshore. Kızkalesi Castle (🎫 20 TRY) has mosaics of birds and trees in the central courtyard, where there are the remains of two chapels side by side and a vaulted gallery with 13 arches. The castle was probably built by the Byzantines sometime after the First Crusade (1095–1099) and was extensively rebuilt in the 13th century by the Armenian King Leo I. It’s possible to swim to the castle, but we caught the boat (50 TRY / return) from the beach. In the evening we took dinner in a garden restaurant with a live band (the only acceptable restaurant at the beach) – Rain Garden (Chicken skewer – 80 TRY, Fried potato chips – 50 TRY, Water – 0,5 l / 8 TRY, Ayran – 15 TRY, Efes Beer – 0,5 l / 7 TRY).
Parking location – Kızkalesi: 36.460027N 34.139324E