Feraklos Castel

The castle of Feraclos (Feraklos) lies 150m high on a very sharp and rocky hill, on the eastern side of the island, overlooking the bays of Haraki and Agathi, opposite the coast of Asia Minor.It is now in a quite dilapidated condition. However, it used to be one of the most effectively bastioned fortresses of the Knights of St. John in the early 1300s. Exactly because of its strategic position, the Knights were able to easily monitor the activities of the enemy ships approaching the island as well as to safely travel to the sea routes of Near East and northern Africa.

The fortress was used as a stronghold by Arab pirates before the Knights’ arrival to Rhodes, who managed to expel the pirates and improve the strength of the fortifications. Many rooms of the castle were transformed into prison cells, serving to detain prisoners of war, but also foreign merchants found to have been involved in illegal businesses.

In 1445, the castle successfully confronted a severe attack by the Ottoman Turks, who were attempting to enter the island of Rhodes. But later on, the Knights were constantly challenged by a relentless siege from the Ottoman Empire and were struggling to protect themselves amongst the walls of the castle, until 1522, when the Rhodes town fall took place.

In 1523, the castle becomes a proper battlefield, where Suleiman the Magnificent manages to take over the castle and commands the residents to be slaughtered, and Prince Murat of Turkey, who had been planning to depose Suleiman while living in the castle, to be captured and subsequently hanged, along with members of his family.

Ever since, the castle was never occupied again, the residents of the surrounding areas abandoned the place, leaving only ruins and memories behind. One of the surrounding areas is the today’s Haraki.