The castle of the Pasins

Hasankale is located in the southern part of the Hasan Mountain, northeast of the district center of Pasinler, 38 km east of Erzurum. The castle was built in 1339 by Hasan Bey, the son of Emir Haj Toğay of Ilhanli. Based on a mountain on one side, the castle is of strategic importance due to its dominant position on the plain. The castle consists of two parts: the inner and the outer. The southern walls of the castle were built much higher than the others because of their location on the ground. The inner castle, which is about 125 meters long and 20 meters wide in the middle, has a triangular shape that narrows towards the north. The long rectangular area in front of the main entrance facing west of the inner castle was reinforced with step walls. The Iron Gate and the Erzurum Gate here and the Hidden (Oğrun) Gate to the east form the steepest tip of Mount Haşan, where the castle is located, extending into the plain. A secret road from the inner castle extends to the Hasankale River in the south, from which water was secretly supplied during sieges. The castle rests on steep cliffs to the north. The castle is made up of two parts: the inside and the outside. The castle's Inner Castle gate and walls, which were made of cut stone and rubble stone, have survived to the present day. Evliya Çelebi mentions that the circumference of the castle is a thousand feet and there is no moat around it. The walls on the south side of the castle were built much higher than the others because of their location on the ground. The Erzurum Gate of the castle faces west and, according to Evliya Çelebi, there was a large gate with iron wings.