Erzurum Kalesi

Erzurum Castle stands on a hill in the historic heart of the city and is regarded as the oldest structure in Erzurum. The Culture Portal traces the castle's past back to the Urartians who once ruled the region, while also noting that its first construction date is unknown. According to most sources, the inner citadel that survives today was built in 415 by the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II. English Wikipedia gives the year as 422; the detail differs, but the sources agree that the structure belongs to the 5th century. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Theodosiopolis, the earliest known name of the city, is also attributed to this emperor. The castle was originally a defensive system made up of two rings. The inner citadel was the core where the guard troops were stationed, while the outer castle enclosed the streets, lanes and neighbourhoods where the townspeople lived. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam writes that the city was once protected by three lines of walls, and that today only the inner citadel and a few wall fragments of the outer ramparts remain. Although the gates of the outer castle are gone, their names live on; Tebriz Kapı, Erzincan Kapı, Gürcü Kapı, İstanbul Kapı and Yeni Kapı are still used as district and street names. The same encyclopedia explains that the ring road system around central Erzurum follows the line of these old gates. The encyclopedia also relates that Clavijo, the Spanish envoy who passed through the city in the early 15th century on his way to Timur's court, described Erzurum as a town surrounded by towered walls and possessing an inner citadel. The city's major phase of rebuilding came later, during the Persian campaigns of Suleiman the Magnificent. According to the tourism guide of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the inner citadel has eight towers. Its courtyard contains an old brick bathhouse and a series of room-like spaces. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam notes that in Ottoman times the inner citadel housed the pasha's palace, the court and the prison. English Wikipedia also records that the castle was used by janissary troops during the Ottoman period. The castle was repaired many times under the Saltukids, the Seljuks and the Ottomans, with its last major repairs carried out in the 16th century under Suleiman the Magnificent and in the 19th century under Mahmud II. The tourism guide also relates that stones from the collapsed sections were used in the middle of the 19th century to build the bastions around the city. The best known part of the castle is Tepsi Minare, which rises at the southwest corner of the courtyard. Also known locally as the Clock Tower or the Truncated Tower, it was commissioned between 1124 and 1132 by the Saltukid ruler Ebu'l-Muzaffer Gazi as both a watchtower and the minaret of the castle mosque. The base of the tower is built of stone and its shaft of brick. A clock was later added to the top, and this addition is known to have been made before 1843. According to the tourism guide, once you pass through its door, 65 wooden steps lead to the top of the tower. The conical stone roof of the Castle Mosque just east of the tower is the second element of the courtyard skyline and counts among the oldest Turkish buildings in Erzurum. Regular scientific excavations have been carried out at the castle since 2000. According to the ministry's museum website, these excavations have uncovered various rooms, ceramics and groups of small finds. On the southern face of the castle there is also a fountain with a pointed arch and an inscription. During your visit we suggest entering through the gate of the inner citadel, walking around the courtyard first and then following the ramparts to look out over the city. From the top of the walls, the minarets of Çifte Minareli Medrese, the slopes of Palandöken and the roofs of the old town fit into a single frame. On a cloudless morning the contrast between the snow-covered mountains and the basalt stone of the old buildings is especially striking. The castle lies close to the point where the Tebriz Kapı district meets Cumhuriyet Caddesi and can be reached on foot from the city centre. Public transport from every part of the city also stops in the centre. Çifte Minareli Medrese and Üç Kümbetler are a few minutes' walk away, which makes the castle the natural starting point for a walk through the old town. Because the slope and the courtyard are paved with stone, the ground can ice over in winter; non-slip shoes make things easier. Visiting days and hours may change, so check the current information on the museum website of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism before you go.