Yoros Castle - Istanbul [4K Drone Footage]

This video was taken with DJI Mavic Air 2

Yoros Castle (Turkish: Yoros Kalesi) is a ruined castle dating back to Byzantine times that stands above the confluence of the Bosphorus and the Black Sea, to the north of Joshua's Hill, in Beykoz district, Istanbul, Turkey. It is commonly referred to as the Genoese Castle, due to Genoa’s possession of it in the mid-15th century.

The future site of Yoros Castle was originally settled by the Phoenicians and Greeks for trading and military purposes. The Greeks called the area Hieron (Sacred Place). The remains of temples, including to Dios, to the Altar of the Twelve Gods, and to Zeus Ourios (Zeus, granter of fair winds) Belonging to the BCE era have been discovered here.

Yoros Castle was intermittently occupied throughout the course of the Byzantine Empire. Under the Palaiologos dynasty in its later years, Yoros Castle was strongly fortified, as was the castle on the opposite side of the Bosphorus. A massive chain could be extended between these two points, cutting the Strait off from enemy warships in the same way that the chain across the Golden Horn was used to defend Constantinople during the last Ottoman siege by Sultan Mehmed II.

The Byzantines, Genoese and Ottomans fought over this castle for centuries. It was first captured by Ottoman forces in 1305, but was retaken by the Byzantines shortly afterwards. Sultan Bayezid I took the castle again in 1391 while preparing for his siege of Constantinople, and it was used as a base during the construction of Anadolu Hisarı, which was to prove more important in the eventual successful siege. In 1399 the Byzantines attempted to take back Yoros Castle. The attack failed, but the village of Anadolu Kavağı was burned to the ground. The Ottomans held the fortress from 1391–1414, losing it to the Genoese in 1414. Their forty-year occupation gave the castle its commonly used nickname - the Genoese Castle.

After Sultan Mehmed II’s conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the presence of the Genoese in such a strategic location posed a threat to the new Ottoman capital and within a few years they were driven out. Mehmed II then refortified the walls, and constructed a customs office, a quarantine centre and a check point, as well as garrisoning the site. Bayezid II (1481–1512) later added a mosque within the castle walls.

Cossack raids plagued the Ottoman Empire from time to time. In 1624 a fleet of 150 Cossack caiques sailed across the Black Sea to attack Bosphorus towns and villages. Sultan Murad IV (1623–1640) refortified Anadolu Kavağı as a defence against them. This proved instrumental in securing the region against such seaborne raids.

Under Osman III (1754–1757), Yoros Castle was once again refortified. Later, in 1783 Abdülhamid I added more watchtowers. After this time, the castle gradually fell into disrepair. By the time the Turkish Republic was declared in 1923, it was no longer in use.

Yoros Kalesi, İstanbul'da Anadolukavağı sırtlarındaki Doğu Roma döneminden kalma kaledir.

İmparatorluk zayıf düştükten sonra Cenevizlilerin eline geçmiş ve uzun süre onların elinde kalmıştır; bu yüzden bir Ceneviz kalesi olduğu inancı doğmuştur. Kalenin kapladığı alan İstanbul çevresindeki diğer bütün kalelerin kapladığı alandan çok daha büyüktür. İç kesimdeki kulelerin bazıları hâlâ iyi durumdadır ve duvarlarda Yunanca yazıtlar göze çarpar.Adının nereden geldiği kesin olarak bilinmemektedir. "Kutsal yer" anlamına gelen Hieron'dan geldiği görüşü oldukça yaygın olmakla birlikte, Antik Çağ tanrılarından Zeus'un sıfatı olan "uygun rüzgarlar" anlamına gelen ourios'tan geldiği de iddia ediliyor. Ayrıca Yoros adının doğrudan doğruya "dağ" anlamındaki oros'tan geldiği de düşünülmektedir. Kalenin deposunda tutulan ve 2013-2014 yıllarındaki kazılarda çıkarılan 661 tarihî eser 2 Şubat 2015'te çalındı.

Source: Wikipedia