The writing of ‘Traveler Halt!’

On the slope immediately behind the Değirmen Cape Bastion, there is a written statement expressing that; ‘Traveler halt! This Soil You Tread Once Witnessed the End of an Era.’ These verses written on the hillside and the torch figure for Robin (Mehmetçik) were made in 1960 by Seyran Çebi who served as a soldier within the region. The words belong to the first two verses of a poem, which is entitled ‘To a Passenger’, written by the poet Necmettin Halil Onan.

The main target of the Dardanelles Sea and Land Wars was to dominate the Dardanelles by reaching to the Kilitbahir Plateau, then to capture the capital city, namely Istanbul. It can be tellable that this article on the hillside of Kilitbahir is very accurately written to a strategic point.

As Mehmet the Conqueror built the Rumelia Castle on the Bosphorus and took control of the sea navigation between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea, he also built two castles in the narrowest points of the Dardanelles. The Kal’a-i Sultaniye (Green Castle) is located on the Anatolian side, and the Kilitbahir Castle is located on the European side. All ships entering and leaving the Dardanelles would be stopped and controlled when they arrived at this line. The castle was built in the narrowest point of the Dardanelles in order to be effective and accurate for its cannon fires. Since this castle was located parallel to the Green Castle in Çanakkale, the cannon fires would intersect; and since there was no dead space where a ship could pass or cannons could not reach, it was extremely difficult to cross the Dardanelles.

The castle, built within the years of 1462-63, was restored by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1541, and a fortification wall surrounding the south part and a tower (yellow tower – sarıkule) was built to the exterior tip of the castle during this restoration. The castle was restored by Sultan Abdülaziz for the second time in 1870. The original outer sea wall of the northern part does not exist today. The northern part of this section was rebuilt by Abdulhamid II in 1893-1894. The southern parts of the sea walls were used as cannon loopholes. Recently, it has undergone a restoration between 2011 and 2013. In 2015; however, a new exhibition-regulation project was initiated.

It is known that the name of the castle whose shape looks like a clover leaf is Kilid-ül Bahir, in the meaning of ‘Sea Locker.’ It is possible to see many Ottoman style artifacts in the Kilitbahir Village, which is developed with the construction of this castle. The Fatih Mosque, Cahidi Sultan Mosque, Tabip Hasan Mosque, the ruined Kırklar Mosque, the Uşşaki Islamic Monastery (Ahmed Talibi Dervish Lodge), several fountains, traditional buildings, the remains of two baths and the graves around the Cahidi Sultan Mosque are among the examples of these structures.