İshak Pasha Palace eternalizes glorious days of Ottoman Empire, welcomes visitors throughout the year

Located in the eastern end of Turkey, Ağrı's Doğubeyazıt district, Ishak Pasha Palace defies time for more than 200 years. The palace is one of the rare examples of Ottoman palace structures after the Topkapı and Dolmabahçe palaces in Istanbul. Considered a "külliye," or social complex, rather than a palace, the building is the last monumental structure that was built in the famous Tulip Era of the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century.

The construction of İshak Pasha Palace was commenced in 1685 by the Doğubeyazıt flag officer Çolak Abdi Pasha, however, the palace could only be completed in 1784 with the efforts of Çıldır Governor İshak Pasha.

Regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Ottoman era, the palace bears traces of Ottoman, Seljuk and Farsi architecture, which is not surprising given the fact that the construction of the building took 99 years and during this period various cultures and historical figures affected the aesthetic taste on the Ottoman lands. Composed of two different yards covering an area of 7,600 square meters, the palace was built with great efforts as there was no construction technology back then. The palace was built with the white stones from neighboring villages and the black stones from Mount Ararat which were carried on animal backs. The walls of the palace which were constructed with cut stones are decorated with both Quranic and poetic verses.

Similar to most of the monumental buildings, there have always been rumors about the İshak Pasha Palace. Rumor has it that the dungeons of the palace play light games on people. Hence, the guards choose a dungeon with more light or less, depending on the severity of the inmate's crime. It is also claimed that the milk produced by the villagers nearby was delivered to the palace via a complex underground system and the milk was then poured through the palace fountains.

Aside from the legends, rumors and the historic importance of the building, İshak Pasha Palace which is 100 kilometers from Ağrı's city center attracts thousands of tourists every year thanks to its eagle nest-like position. While the place fascinates visitors with the colorful flowers in its gardens during the spring, İshak Pasha Palace also amazes tourists with its magnificence in winter. It has been reported that the palace attracted 57,541 local and foreign tourists between January and November.

Speaking to the press, Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Muhsin Bulut informed that the cold weather has no impact on the number of visitors coming to Doğubeyazıt to see the palace. "Although it is minus 10 degrees Celsius outside, our visitors are able to tour every section of the palace thanks to the latest restoration undertaken by the Culture and Tourism Ministry," Bulut said. He further noted that the roof of the palace has been covered with tampered glass to prevent rain or snow from accumulating inside the palace. "The snow which is accumulated on the tampered glass melts within two days and is disposed of outside the palace," he added.

Bulut invited everybody to Doğubeyazıt to see İshak Pasha Palace and concluded by saying: "Those who come to Ağrı can also turn their trip into a small tour by paying a visit to the nearby provinces of Kars, Ardahan and Iğdır. Considering the tough times we have been going through as a nation, we need to get to know our ancient civilization better. We need to attach greater importance to the values that make us who we are. I advised those living in the western provinces to travel to the eastern parts of the Turkey as the people residing in the eastern provinces to travel to western Turkey. I believe that we should launch a campaign to revive domestic tourism."