Ishak Pasha Palace — Attraction in Doğubayazıt

Ishak Pasha Palace, one of the most beautiful works of Turkish architectural history, is located in Ağrı. İshak Pasha Palace, which took 99 years to build, attracts great attention from local and foreign tourists.

“There is a lake at four thousand two hundred meters on the slope of Mount Ararat, they call it the Küp lake. The lake is the size of a threshing floor. It's very deep. A well, not a lake. All around the lake, namely the mouth of the well, the swivel is surrounded by red, sharp, sparkling rocks like a knife blade. Then the blue of the lake begins. This is a completely different blue...

Gülbahar lost Ahmed in Cube Lake. Since that day, those who pass by Küp Lake see Gülbahar sitting on the shore of the lake, with her long black hair flowing like light on her back, her head between her two hands, staring into the deep blue water. Every now and then, Ahmet appears in Gulbahar's eyes in the waters of the lake, Gulbahar opens her arms and walks to Ahmed and says, "Ahmet, Ahmet!" he shouts. His voice echoes all over the mountain.

The lake boils, Ahmet disappears, Gülbahar disappears, a small white bird comes and dips its wing into the deep blue of the water, and then the black shadow of a horse comes over the water."

In his book The Legend of Mount Ararat, Yaşar Kemal describes the epic love between Gülbahar and Ahmed, who could not reunite, in İshak...

Ishak Pasha Palace is a 17th century creation, built by a family of Kurdish Ottoman pashas. The palace is built 2000m up on the hills overlooking Dogubeyazit and next to the castle of the same name. Entry was 150TL (don't be fooled by the prices in Euros, they aren't accepted here!) and was a real bargain. The parking area is just above the palace and both large and free. We drove to the site from Van and it was an easy drive, interrupted only by military checkpoints with very polite soldiers. There was some beautiful stonework inside the heavily restored building (damaged by earthquakes, Russian artillery and subsequent looting of the stone) and lots of information in English and the views were naturally spectacular. We spent maybe an hour inside before walking a little further up the hill to a café where we had baklava and tea and enjoyed the view, looking down on the palace and town. Nat was traumatised again by the toilets so I crossed my legs and waited. It seemed that there is no concept of litter collection outside the towns and the roads and rest areas all had an unhealthy dose of human detritus...

Ishak Pasha Palace

Standing on top of a hill like an eagle's nest, Ishak Pasha Palace looks right out of a folk tale. One of the stunning examples of Ottoman architecture, this well preserved marvel blends Western elegance with Eastern mysticism.

Ishak Pasha Palace boasts fot its very unique baroque and rococo styles of architecture, highly visible Seljuk Turk influence, and also ample evidence of local motifs. The construction of this palace which belongs to the Ottoman era was started in 1685 by Colak Abdi Pasha of the Cildirogullari, the bey of Beyazit province. The palace was opened in 1784 and includes many intriguing sections such as the dungeons, bakery, a mausoleum, and an ammunition room.

The palace is a great place to watch the sunset.

Just past the palace complex are a mosque and citadel that are believed to date back to the Urartian period.

Legend: The legendary love story of Kerem and Asli is thought to have taken place in the Monk's Vineyard on the way to the Ishak...