Sığacık, a coastal neighborhood in the Seferihisar district of İzmir, is a peaceful and quiet holiday destination where you can go with your family. With its proximity to İzmir, easy transportation, historical castle, cute marina, crystal clear sea, and delicious seafood, Sığacık is worth visiting.

 

In addition to products such as grapes, satsumas, tangerines, and olives, Sığacık, which has shown development in tourism in recent years, has old Sığacık houses and guesthouses within the castle walls. Many of them have survived to the present day. After walking among the Kaleiçi houses, you can climb up to the bastions of the castle dating back to the Genoese and watch the marina and the surroundings. The shores of the bay are full of restaurants that specialize in seafood.

 

For those looking for different places after dinner, there are tea gardens, coffee shops, cafes, and music garden bars around the marina. While you sip your drinks in the gentle breeze of Sığacık, there is also a large and well-maintained park with playground equipment for children. The settlements and green areas that expand on both sides of the castle, and the tea gardens built on park areas, welcome large crowds, especially those who escape from Izmir on the weekends.

The marina area where foreign boats stay offers opportunities for those who love walking.

If you continue on the asphalt road surrounding the bay, you will reach the hill where you can watch the whole of Sığacık.

Akkum, the famous beach with its sand, is located on the west-facing slope of the ramp. The large bay, which you can benefit from all day long with its symbolic entrance fee and modest facilities, is also... In addition, boat trips are organized to the bays in the region for those who want to watch the underwater natural beauty of the Aegean, swim in the sea, dive and fish in the clear sea of ​​the Aegean at the Sığacık Fishing Shelter.

 

SIĞACIK CASTLE

The history of the castle, which history, nature and technology have been unable to wear down, dates back to the Seljuk period. When it was devastated by violent earthquakes, it was repaired first by the Aydınoğulları and then by the Ottomans.

When its important strategic position in the Aegean Sea was noticed by Kaptan-ı Derya Piri Reis, it was built by Kanuni Sultan Süleyman using stones brought from the ruins of Teos for Palak Mustafa Pasha. Its current state dates back to 1521-1522. The castle, previously known as "Sığla", was used as a naval base rather than for defensive purposes. The castle has three separate gates called Kuşadası, Ayasuluk and Seferihisar. In the naval base; there is an outer castle and an inner castle called ward where the soldiers spend their daily lives and training, and two bastions and two gates on the sea-facing part of this inner castle. While the second floor of some houses rises on the castle walls, some house walls and windows and stones from Teos can be seen between the walls. There are 1.20 by 50 cm. 3m spaced embrasures on the courtyard walls of the bastions facing north, but some of them are currently closed. The houses inside the castle are adjacent, some are single-storey and some are two-storey. The majority of the houses are made of adobe, most have an inner courtyard, and the two-storey houses have bay windows and wooden shutters. The stairs and doors inside the houses are completely wooden. On the north side of the castle, the upper part of the Barbaros Halil Pasha arch has collapsed.