Tortum Castle

Tortum Castle (Georgian: თორთომის ციხე), in the historic Tao region, is a medieval castle of Georgian origin located in the village of Tortumkale, formerly called Tortum, which is part of the district of Tortum in Erzurum Province today.

History

As a settlement, Tortum was not located where the modern town stands. The former name of the place where the town of Tortum is located is Nihah or Nihağ. Indeed, on F.R. Maunsell's 1902 English map "Oltu-Tortum" this settlement is written as "Nikhagh". As a settlement, the present-day village of Tortumkale was called Tortum. Tao, where Tortum Castle and the old Tortum village are situated, was one of the regions that formed medieval Georgia. Indeed, the Ottomans seized this region and the castle from the Georgians in the middle of the 16th century. Tortum Castle dates from that period. The presence of a church in the castle also shows that this structure was built before the Ottoman period. Tortum Castle was registered in 1978 as a cultural heritage site that needs protection.

Architecture

Tortum Castle was built on a rocky hill and consists of an inner and an outer castle. Remains of high walls, a church, and the ruins of some structures within the castle have survived in a ruined state. The fact that the castle has been altered several times after its construction can be understood from the building materials used. Outside the inner castle, the Tortum Castle Church located on the south side is a single-nave structure. One wall of the church has remained almost completely intact.