Medieval Fortress near the village of Mezek

Near the village of Mezek (Svilengrad Municipality), on the Kaleto hill stand the ruins of a medieval Byzantine fortress from the end of the 11th century AD. It is the best preserved defensive installation in the Rhodope mountain. The fortress had the functions of a border guarding fortress. It defended the territories between the rivers Maritza and Arda. It is located in the end of Mezek village, 6 kilometers southwest of Svilengrad and only a kilometer of the border with Greece. Objects, dating back to the 11th century were found during several archaeological excavations. The fortress is believed to be constructed during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus (1081 – 1117). The fortress walls surround an area of about 7 decares in the shape of an irregular rectangle with sizes of 110/60 meters and are built of stones, soldered with white plaster, decorated with three brick bands on the outside. The fortress wall ended with pinnacles, which were preserved until 1900. The fortress defense was reinforced by nine round towers, over 10 meters high. Five of the towers were located at the southern wall (two edge towers and three on the front), two at the western wall (in the middle and at the main entrance), one at the northern and one at the eastern wall. The fortress functioned until the Ottoman invasion in the end of the 14th century. It was planned to be a solid fortification unit and was home to many people.
Besides the view to the village and the surrounding area, in clear weather from the towers a view of the Aegean Sea can be seen.