Citadel

Citadel Review

Trabzon's Byzantine-era citadel, set between two ravines, is still an imposing event though it's pretty much a ruin. The remains of the Byzantine palace are insignificant, though the ramparts were restored after the Ottoman conquest in 1461 and are a testament to the fact that no army ever took Trabzon by force, though many tried. Inside the citadel walls is the 10th-century church of Panaghia Chrysokephalos (the Virgin of the Golden Head), which was the city's cathedral, where many of it rulers were married, crowned, and buried. The Ottomans converted it into a mosque, the Ortahisar Cami, in the 15th century. Not much is left of the building's Byzantine glory, although the soaring walls and massive columns are still impressive.