Drawing on an analysis of festival accounts, this article examines an-ti-Turkish imagery developed in the ephemeral architectures between 1560 and 1620 for a range of public festivals held in Castilian cities, such as Madrid, Toledo, Burgos and Valladolid, through the analysis of their festive relationships. Firstly, it traces and analyses the imagery of Ottoman Turks in early modern Castilian soci-ety. It then turns to examine the evolution of these representations, by focusing on the historical development of images of the ‘other’. Particular attention is devoted to the creation of figurative stereotypes, which were charged with negative content.