Bitlis Castle: The Rock above the Old Bazaar

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1. What is Bitlis Castle?
2. How do you get to Bitlis Castle?
3. When is the best time to visit Bitlis Castle?
4. What is the history of Bitlis Castle?
5. What is Bitlis Castle famous for?
6. What can you see at Bitlis Castle?
7. Frequently asked questions about Bitlis Castle
8. What do the official records say about Bitlis Castle?

What is Bitlis Castle?

Bitlis Castle (Bitlis Kalesi) is the fortress that crowns a steep rock in the middle of Bitlis town. The town grew around its foot, in the narrow valley where two streams join to form the Bitlis stream, and the castle walls are visible from almost every street.

The Bitlis Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism notes that the castle stands on a steep slope directly above the bazaar, that its interior is filled with earth and cannot be explored, and that the hilltop offers a panoramic view of the town (Bitlis Culture and Tourism Directorate). The real reason to come is the combination: the castle above, and below it the old bazaar, the Ulu Cami, the Şerefiye külliye and the stone houses of a town that was the cultural centre of the region in Ottoman times.

How do you get to Bitlis Castle?

Bitlis is on the D300 highway, about 25 km southwest of Tatvan and roughly two hours by road from Diyarbakır. Intercity buses stop at the town’s bus station, and minibuses run regularly from Tatvan. The castle is in the town centre: walk to the bazaar area known as Kalealtı (“below the castle”) and look up.

The nearest airport is Muş Sultan Alparslan Airport; Van, Batman and Diyarbakır airports are the alternatives.

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When is the best time to visit Bitlis Castle?

May to October. Bitlis is one of the snowiest towns in Türkiye, and in winter its steep lanes can be icy. Morning is the best time to walk the old bazaar when the shops are busy; the castle rock catches the late afternoon sun.

What is the history of Bitlis Castle?

Local tradition, recorded in the 2002 inventory, holds that the castle was built in 312 BC by Badlis, a commander of Alexander the Great, after whom the town was named. It occupies the strategic point that made Bitlis important throughout history: the only natural passage between the Lake Van basin and the lowlands of southeastern Anatolia.

The castle was the seat of the Rojiki emirs, the Kurdish dynasty of the Şerefhans who ruled Bitlis from the late 14th century and built many of its monuments. The inventory quotes the description in the historical records: a circuit of 2,800 m (4,000 paces), walls 56 m high and 7 m wide, and inside a magnificent khan’s palace with 300 houses, a han and a mosque with a minaret; on the north side, facing down towards the river, a bazaar with a triple iron gate, a bedesten and several hundred houses.

What is Bitlis Castle famous for?

• Its position, on a single rock rising out of the middle of the town.
• The view from the top over the gorge, the minarets and the stone roofs.
• The Kalealtı bazaar at its foot, one of the province’s best-known old market streets.

What can you see at Bitlis Castle?

The walls and the summit. The surviving walls follow the edge of the rock. The interior is filled with earth, so there are no buildings to explore, but the summit is a viewpoint over the whole town.

Kalealtı. The old bazaar at the castle’s foot, with the Aşağı Kale (Kalealtı) Mosque, which the inventory dates to the 17th–18th centuries.

Ulu Cami. In the lowest part of the town centre, dated by its inscription to 1150. It is set on six arches and has a separate minaret tower of 1492.

Şerefiye Külliyesi. Mosque, madrasa, imaret and tomb of 1529, built by Şeref Han IV where the Kışla and Hosor streams meet, with a richly decorated east front and mihrab.

İhlasiye Madrasa. On Gökmeydan, the highest square in town, built in 1589 by Şeref Han V; the largest madrasa in Bitlis. Nearby is the Gökmeydan Mosque of 1801.

Bitlis Ethnography Museum. In a former governor’s residence built of Ahlat stone, with textiles, copperwork, coins and carved stones in the garden (Bitlis Culture and Tourism Directorate).

Hans and baths. The Han Hamamı, attributed to Şeref Han IV (1529), and the Hüsrev Paşa Hamamı of 1571. On the Tatvan road, El-Aman Han is the 16th-century caravanserai of Hüsrev Paşa.

Frequently asked questions about Bitlis Castle

What do the official records say about Bitlis Castle?

It was built by Badlis, one of the commanders of Alexander the Great, from whom the city takes its name (312 BC). It stands on a sheer block of rock where two streams, branches of the Bitlis water, meet. It lies within a settlement area that stretches from east to west.

The records state that the castle, with a circumference of 2,800 m (4,000 paces), is 56 m high and 7 m wide, and that on top of it there was a magnificent khan’s palace with 300 houses, a han, a mosque and a minaret; and that on the north side of the castle, whose walls were not very strong, there was a bazaar with a triple iron gate facing down towards the river, a bedesten and several hundred houses. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Bitlis Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)