The Fairy-Tale Castle
Twenty-six concrete towers copying Galata, the Maiden's Tower and other Turkish landmarks; magical for children from across the lake, plainer up close than the photos suggest.
Sinan Şahin — CC BY 3.0 · Sinan Şahin — CC BY 3.0 · İBRAHİM0626! — CC BY-SA 4.0 · BSRF — CC BY-SA 4.0
A castle with twenty-six towers and turrets, several of them copies of Istanbul's Galata Tower and Maiden's Tower and of other Turkish landmarks, that has never seen a siege: it opened in March 2014, built in concrete on what used to be an agriculture faculty's fields. This is the Masal Şatosu, the Fairy-Tale Castle that is Sazova Park's calling card, and the honest thing to say first is that the photographs flatter it. From across the lake it looks lifted from a cartoon; up close it is a modern build whose paint could use a refresh. Children notice none of this, and they are the ones it was built for: inside there are short theatrical story sessions in Turkish, and the viewing terraces up top give a pleasant look over the water. The park is far bigger than its castle. Four hundred thousand square metres, opened by the metropolitan municipality in October 2008 beside the new stadium, with enough to fill a whole day with small children. A 25,000 m² artificial lake with a full-size pirate galleon moored in it; a hands-on science centre where everything is meant to be touched; the Sabancı Uzay Evi planetarium screening films on space and the cosmos; a zoo with the ETİ Underwater World aquarium on the same ticket. Then Esminiatürk, 1:25-scale models of monuments from across the Turkic world, the Blue Mosque among Central Asian mausoleums; a quiet Japanese garden; an amphitheatre of around 1,200 seats; and a narrow-gauge steam train that loops the whole site. Entry to the grounds is free, and each attraction sells its own ticket at municipal prices: on the 2026 tariff the castle is 70 TL to wander and 100 TL with a story session, the science centre 90, the planetarium 110, the zoo 270 (aquarium included) and the museum ship 60 (prices are revised yearly). The science centre and planetarium run Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, the zoo opens at 10:00 on the same days, and all of them close on Mondays, so do not plan a Monday if the science or the animals are the point. From the centre it is a municipal bus (routes 11, 17 or 31) or a fifteen-to-twenty-minute taxi; the tram does not come out this far. Paths are flat and paved, so pushchairs are no trouble, but covering the whole park means a long walk; the train shortens some of it. Weekends and Turkish holidays bring queues at the castle and zoo, so pick a weekday if you can. In August the park is punishing at midday and lovely after five, when the castle lights come on and the lakeside fills with families; in winter the towers under snow make the photograph, though much of the outdoor kit goes quiet. The verdict: with children under twelve it earns half a day without argument. Without them, an hour around the lake and the castle's exterior is plenty, then head back to the Porsuk riverbanks, where Eskişehir's real character lives.
Twenty-six concrete towers copying Galata, the Maiden's Tower and other Turkish landmarks; magical for children from across the lake, plainer up close than the photos suggest.
Hands-on experiments and space shows at municipal prices, the best value in the whole park.
A full-size galleon moored on an artificial lake, circled by the steam train that saves small legs.
Sazova Mahallesi, Tepebaşı, Eskişehir
Honestly, not much. The park is built for families, and the castle looks better in photos than in person. Without children, give it an hour around the lake at sunset at most, or spend the time on the Porsuk riverbanks and the Odunpazarı quarter instead.
Sazova for children who want a castle, a train, a zoo and a science centre, all on token tickets. Kent Park is about its artificial beach and pools in summer heat, but the municipality charges non-Turkish visitors a much higher rate there (about 1,200 TL for the beach on the 2026 tariff). In a single day, Sazova in the morning and the Porsuk riverbank in the evening is the comfortable order.