The castle of Oltu

Oltu Castle, located in the center of Oltu County, was built by the Urartians in the 4th century BC. It was built by the Urartians in the 11th century. The Oltu Castle, which was also used as a caravanserai for a while during the Ottoman period, was built on an area of 3000 m2. The castle, made of cut stone, underwent repairs in the Byzantine, Seljuk, Akkoyun, Karakoyun and Ottoman periods, and was last restored and strengthened in 1998-1999. The chapel in Oltu Castle is on the steep and high tower in the northeast corner of the inner castle. The chapel, which has a six-leaf clover plan, was built in the 10th and 11th centuries by the Georgians, who dominated the area. It was built by the Georgians, who had dominated the region for centuries. The sundial motif is striking in the structure, which uses blocks of stone decorated with earth. There is an entrance to the chapel from the west, and an apse round to the east. While the outer castle walls surrounding the neighborhoods of Oltu have not survived to the present day, the inner castle, located on natural rocks, is remarkable for its strength and all its splendor. Around the inner castle, the high and thick walls are reinforced with towers. On the inner castle, also called "Ehmedek", there are sarnishes, a shrine, a chapel and places belonging to the castle guards. It is understood that the tower and boundary walls to the northwest of Oltu Castle had a much more majestic character in the past. There is also a secret waterway that descends from Ehmedek into the Oltu River. On the eastern slope of the inner castle, the castle forms a whole with the Seljuk Baths, which originally extend to the Seljuks and are connected to the inner castle by cones.