TNT Ancient History Archives: Urartu Castle in Dam Lake, Dates to 2,800 Years Ago

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 24 May 2021)

urartu people click here for some background on

these ancient people.

                                    Castle on an island.

Petek Kalesi (castle), built by the ancient Urartu people 2,800 years ago, 

was mostly submerged under the waters of Keban Dam in 1974, leaving 

it as an island in the middle of the dam's lake.  After the Urartu's, the

castle was occupied by the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Selçuk and

Mengüjek Turks.  

In Ottoman times, the castle was repaired.  It has two walls, one within

the other, and the remains of a structure are between the walls.  The 

castle now lies on an island in the Keban Dam lake that forms the border

between Tunceli and Elazığ provinces.  To visit the castle people can

take a fishing boat to the island from the Tunceli shore 5 kilometers away.

//Info from Wikipedia//

Pertek Castle (Turkish: Pertek Kalesi) is a castle in the Pertek district of

 the Tunceli province in Turkey.

Its origins probably lie in the Kingdom of Urartu.^[1] According to the Italian 

archaeologist Roberto Dan, the castle exhibits characteristics of Urartu rock 

processing and was built for the control of nearby mines, especially copper 

mines.^[2] The name pertek comes from the Armenian word բերդակ (pertag) 

in the local dialect.

The current structure was built in the 11th century by the Seljukid Mengujekids 

beys. Under the Ottoman Empire it was restored and rebuilt, probably in the 

16th century, at the same time as the Sungur Bey Mosque and Çelebi Ağa 

Mosque in Pertek. 

Originally, the castle overlooked Old Pertek. In 1974, the surrounding area 

was flooded by the Keban Dam, leaving the castle on an island five kilometers 

away from the northern shore of the new artificial lake. It is close to the 

boundary of the Elazığ province.

The castle's walls are completely made of natural stone blocks. In the 

southern walls, clinker and blue tiles were also used.^[3] There is an entrance 

in the northwest, and cisterns along with two defensive walls in the castle. 

According to Evliya Çelebi, the castle hosted a sculpture of an eagle. Below 

the castle, the Baysungur Mosque and the Çelebi Ali Mosque, built by 

Baysungur, the bey of Pertek, were located.