472... 04... 528,744... 11,376... 43 E 03 - 39 N 44...

Agri... Situated in Eastern Anatolia and extending to the Iranian border, is Agri, one of the highest regions in the country with its mountainous formation. Rising up to a height of 5,165 m, Mount Agri is the main peak of Türkiye and the symbol of the city. This snowcapped volcano is the famous biblical Mount Ararat, the legendary site of the second beginning of the world. It is believed that Noah's Ark rested on its summit during the big flood, and the wide plain of Igdir at the foot of the mountain is the first place where Noah set foot after the disaster. A geological hollow near Uzengili village has the shape allegedly of the ark, and it is a place often visited by tourists, being also a beautiful resting spot. Mount Ararat, besides offering magnificent scenery, also provides opportunities for hunting, skiing and mountaineering. Climbing is also possible once you get the necessary permission from the authorities. 95 km east of Agri, one of the beautiful cities of Türkiye, is the town Dogubayazit, comprising spectacular ruins from earlier periods Ishak Pasha Palace, 6 kms outside the town center, is the most important sight, and was constructed by the Ottoman governor, Ishak Pasha, in the 17th century. It has been restored many since, and has become an original building of mixed architectural design. An Urartian king relief and a rock tomb dating to the 9th century BC, are other historical remains near the palace, while ruins from the same period are also to be found near Patnos, another important town of Agri province. An interesting place is the meteoric hole, about 80 years old, located between the Gurbulak border gate and Sancavus village. It is the second largest hole of this type in the world with its 35 m width and 60 m depth. Besides these touristic attractions, there are other specialties of the city. One is "Lake Balik", famous for its "trout". Still another is the local dessert "Asure", also known as "Noah's Pudding" and it is a sweet that must be tasted. It's only 35 km between the Iranian frontier and Dogubeyazit, a town that is dusty in summer and muddy in winter. Behind the town is a range of bare, jagged mountains, while before it there is a table - flat expanse of wheat fields and grazing land. On the far northern side of this flatness rises Agri Dagi, an enormous volcano capped with ice and often shrouded in dark clouds.

Ishak Pasha Palace...

Ishak Pasha Palace is more of a complex than a mere palace. It is our second administrative campus after the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul and the most famous of the palaces built at recent decades. The palace which was built on a hills at the side of a mountain 5 km east of Dogubeyazit District is the last large monumental structure of the Ottoman Empire in the "Lale Devri" period. It is one of the most distinguished and magnificent examples of the 18^th century Ottoman architecture and is very valuable in terms of art history. According to the top of the door inscription at the Harem Section it was consstructed in 1784 or 1199 accordingto the Islamic calendar. As the ground building sits on is a valley slope, it is rocky and hard. Despite the fact that it is at the center of the Old Beyazit city its three sides (north, west, south) are steep and sloped. There is a suitable flat area only to the east. The entrance of the palace is on that side. Its also its narrowest facade.

As the palace was built inan age when the castles ceased to be special and fire arms were developed and were abundently available its defense towards the hills on the east is weak. Its main gate is the weakest point in that respect. The structure of the main gate is no different than those seen in the palaces built in Istanbul and elsewhere in Anatolia and has a neat stone workmanship and carving. Today we have very few examples of the historical Turkish palaces still surviving. One of these is the Ishak Pasha Palace and complex. Ishak Pasha Palace is composed of following sections in terms of architectural style : (1) Exterior facades, (2) First and second courts, (3) The men's quarter (selamlik), (4) The mosque building, (5) The Soup Kitchen (Darüzziyafe), (6) Bath, (7) Rooms of the Harem Section, (8) Hall for ceremonies and entertaintment, (9) Arch gates, (10) Panteries and ammunition room, (11) The mousoleum, (12) The bakery, (13) Dungeons, (14) Some sections from interior design (doors, windows, cupboards, fireplaces, soft drink cupboard, etc.)

The characteristic of the palace is in its mixture of Ottoman, Persian and Seljuk architectural styles. The palace was built in 1685 by II. Ishakpasha of the Çildiroðullari and Çolak Abdi Pasha and took its final form in 1784. The building occupies an area of approximately 115 m x 50 m. The portal on the eastern facade of the palace, which is built with cut stones, reflects the characteritics of the Seljuk art with its reliefs and decorations. The palace is composed of two courts and the collection of structures positioned around them. Some of the buildings of the first court are destoyed. The second court which is surrounded on four sides with buildings has a rectengular plan. To the right, with reference to the entrance there is the men's quarter and behind it the harem section. At the end of these, there is the mosque and the mousoleum. The mousoleum is built in the style of the Seljuk "kümbet" (cupola) architecture. The palace section has two stoerys. All of its 366 rooms are arranged on these two floors. Each room has a stone fireplace. The cavities within the stone walls indicate that the building as a whole possessed a central heating system.The reception hall is 30 m x 3 m. It has stone walls and floor . Its walls are decorated with couplets and verses from theKkoran in the decorative examples of the Turkish Chaligraphy art. Among these a couplet, which in very free translation goes like "Ishak, upon will, made the whole world a place of benovelence and the date to witness this was one thousand one hundred ninetynine" and indicates that the palace was completed in 1784 A.D. The mousoleum in the second court yard of the palace is built with cut stones. This octoganal mousoleum is in the shape of the copolas, which is one of the most typical examples of the traditional Seljuk mousoleum architecture and has two storeys. Its walls are decorated with geometric motifs. Çolak Abdi Pasha, Ishak Pasha and their close kin are resting at this mosoleum.

The interior and exterior architectural wealth of the Ishak Pasha palace could be described forever. Whether the palace is taken as a whole or should its rooms and buildings studied individually, sucsess, order and mastery is all that one can fine Ishak Pasha Palace stands at a desolate valley today and the fact that it was the subject of various legends and stories add to its magnificent athmosphere some colour and mystery.