Ishak Pasa Sarayi

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appears to be a case of mistaken identity. As the hold of the Mongol Ilkhan empire weakened in eastern Anatolia, the area fell under the sway of two brothers of the Mongol Jalairid dynasty, Ahmet and Bayazit. It was the Jalairid Bayazit who, in 1374, refurbished the existing (possibly Genoese) fortress at Darujnk (Darong) as a defense against Bayram Hoca (after which it became known as Bayazit Kalesi).

Although the keys of the fortress were surrendered to Selim I as early as 1514, the town itself became an Ottoman possession only in the mid 17th century This followed a series of long drawn out and bloody confrontations with the Shiite Safavids from Persia, and a total of five different peace treaties.

At the end of the 18th century Ishak Pasa II, Kurdish emir and governor of Dogubayazit from about 1769 until 1797, transformed the fortress into the extraordinary complex of buildings seen today, a project begun by his father Hasan, a member of the Çildiroglu dynasty, and completed by his son Mehmut. Now in part restored, the palace with its outer and inner courtyards, flamboyant doorways, audience chambers, offices, kitchens, harem and men's quarters, is a curiously satisfying blend of Seljuk, Ottoman, Armenian, Georgian and Persian styles. It most definitely warrants a visit. Note in particular the very ornate türbe in front of the little domed cuboidal mosque.

On the far side of the small chasm east of the palace, beyond Eski Dogubayazit's domed mosque (built by Selim the Grim in 1514), are the ruins of Bayazit's old fort, with circular towers. Local people still refer to it as Ceneviz Kalesi (the Genoese fort) as well as Bayazit Kalesi. To the left of the fort can be seen a partly completed relief, carved in the rock face either side of a Urartian rock chamber (ninth century B.C.).