Lekuresi Castle was built by the Ottomans in the C16th to protect the area from attack by Corfu just a couple of miles off the coast and to control the sea trade routes.
The castle is built on top of the hills surrounding Saranda and reached up a steep road with a lot of hairpin bends. The remains of earlier houses can be seen outside the castle walls as well as concrete bunkers from the Cold War.
The castle was surrounded by high stone walls and there is still the rusty remains of a gun beside them. Outside the entrance is the remains of a C17/18th church with some frescoes in poor condition.
Apart from the walls and entrance gateway there is little of the castle left. The inside was flattened when a restaurant was built during the uncontrolled development of the 1990s. Unfortunately no archaeological records were kept at the time and little is known about the castle.
Unless you are wanting a meal, there is little reason to visit apart from the view on a clear day, when you can see down the coast as far as Butrint, and across the bay to Corfu with Italy in the distance. If you are wanting to take pictures, visit in the morning so you will have the sun behind you.
