Karaites and Kastles

There are two reasons to travel to Trakai, the island castle and the Karaites. But this doesn't take much time, so I also poked my head in at every site I could find.

One of these was the Orthodox church, which made me wish I could bottle a scent. On one side of the church, the women and children were eating a hearty, spice-filled meal and on the other side were burning incense. They combined to form a very welcoming smell.

I took a walk along the river...
... stopped by at the old post office...

... and visited the ruins of the peninsula castle.

Then on to the main events, starting with the Island Castle...

The castle is on an island in the middle of Lake Galve. The initial building began in the 14th century and was completed around 1409 by Vytautas the Great, who used it as his residence. It was badly ruined through neglect and has been largely rebuilt.

Note the old and new wall sections in this tower.

The Karaites were brought from Crimea by Grand Duke Vytautas in 1397 and 1398 to act as his body guards. They are a turkic-speaking people and their religion is a form of Judaism with some Islamic elements. Their temple is called a Kenessa and their traditional houses, which still line a portion of the main road, sit endwise with three windows facing the street.

Traditional Karaite clothing for women.