Ishakpasa palace

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Night Ishakpasa Palace.
Night Ishakpasa Palace.

Ishak Pasha Palace is more of a complex than a mere palace. It is our second administrative campus after the Topkapı Palace in İstanbul and the most famous of the palaces built at recent decades.

The palace which was built on a hill at the side of a mountain 5 km. east of Doğubeyazıt District is the last large monumental structure of the Ottoman Empire in the "Lale Devri" Period. It is one of the most distinguished and magnificent examples of the 18th century Ottoman architecture and is very valuable in terms of art history. According to the top of the door inscription at the Harem Section it was constructed in 1784 (1199 H.) according to the Islamic calendar.

As the ground building sits on is a valley slope, it is rocky and hard. Despite the fact that it is at the center of the Old Beyazıt city its three sides (north, west, south) are steep and sloped. There is a suitable flat area only to the east. The entrance of the palace is on that side. It's also its narrowest façade.

As the palace was built in an age when the castles ceased to be special and fire arms were developed and were abundantly available its defense towards the hills on the east is weak. Its main gate is the weakest point in that respect. The structure of the main gate is no different than those seen in the palaces built in İstanbul and elsewhere in Anatolia and has a neat stone workmanship and carving.

Today we have very few examples of the historical Turkish palaces still surviving. One of these is the İshak Pasha Palace and complex.