Beçin Castle

Historical Site

On a rocky plateau overlooking the Milas plain — the castle and ruins that hosted the capital of the Menteşe principality.

Standing atop a steep rock plateau rising some two hundred metres above the plain south of Milas, Beçin was a strategic centre for centuries thanks to its position. Known in antiquity as “Peçin,” this height became the capital of the Menteşe principality in the 14th century, when a rich settlement of madrasas, baths, mosques, caravanserais and tombs was built on the plateau.

Today visitors can wander inside the castle walls, dating from the Byzantine era and repaired under the principality; from the towers a panorama of the Milas plain, the olive groves and distant mountains opens out. Outside the castle, the archaeological site presents structures such as the Ahmed Gazi Madrasa (14th c.), the Orhan Mosque, the Bey Bath and rock tombs — an unbroken layering of history from Caria through Byzantium to the Menteşe principality. Quiet and shaded, away from the crowds, Beçin is a rich cultural stop that combines into one day with Milas, Euromos and Labraunda.