Description of the attraction
To the east of Erzurum, close to the ancient caravan route, and now the Erzurum-Tabriz highway, is adjoined by the arched mountain range of Hasanbaba. Over the road, controlling the valley, hangs the ancient fortress of Hasankale, at the foot of which lies the small town of Pasinler (the old names of Hasankale and Hesenqele, which means the fortress of Hasan).
The fortress is located on the ancient Great Silk Road, in the northern part of the Pasinsky plain, on a steep cliff near a mountain slope. The Erzurum fortress was supposedly built by the Byzantines in the first half of the 5th century AD.
The citadel rises to the edge of heaven and is truly breathtaking when you look at it from below, from the side of Ilydzhi. This fortress is a beautiful stone structure, majestic like the Milky Way, it is a kind of shield on the plain. Apart from the commandant, the imam and the muezzin, there is no one in it. On a fortress hill in the middle of the city, you can hear a whole concert of muezzins (muezzin - calling believers to prayer from the top of the minaret).
Horses and donkeys cannot climb this mountain slope, so in ancient times everything had to be delivered to the fortress by hand. For Murad Khan IV, the conqueror of Yerevan, it was an important castle, which, despite its small size, served as a watchtower.
Pasinler is a fairly large fortress with two rows of walls. This beautiful stone fortification, in the shape of a quadrangle, looks like a huge swan from the side. Its walls are about eighteen yards high. On three sides there are very shallow ditches, but there is no particular fear and fear of the enemy, since here is a very low place, and the earth is all saturated with water and the enemy, even if he wants to, cannot dig trenches here. If you dig to a depth of even one cubit, then water immediately emerges - this is a lost and hopeless place.
The Erzincan Gate faces west. These iron-framed gates are enormous. The secret gates and the Ilıca gates located in the eastern part are locked. The fortress numbered about seven hundred soldiers, had an excellent arsenal and sixty small and large cannons.
Inside the citadel, there are five hundred and ninety brick winter houses covered with clay, it has nine quarters and nine mihrabs. The most beautiful cathedral mosque of all those present on the territory of the fortress is the Suleiman Khan mosque. This is a mosque of old work, low and with one minaret. It is also covered with clay. There is a small market, one caravanserai, one bathhouse and six schools for children. All residents were brave, capable, skillful and skillful people, and despite their poverty, surprisingly hospitable.
There are no vineyards and orchards both in the fortress itself and near it - a harsh and extremely cold winter reigns here most of the year. However, despite this, cereal yields are quite rich.
