Turkey Guide
Northeastern Anatolia
The citadel
Address: On the opposite side of Cumhuriyet Caddesi from the Çifte Minareli Medrese
Opening time: Daily 8am–5.30pm
Price: 2YTL
A narrow lane leads past some of the oldest houses in town and a handful of carpet/antique shops to the citadel or kale, whose vast rectangular bulk was originally laid out by Emperor Theodosius II. The interior is bare except for a shoebox-like mescit, or small mosque, capped by an afterthought of a kümbet-style dome. The adjacent freestanding Tepsi Minare now doubles as a clocktower; like the mosque it's mostly twelfth century, though the superstructure (which can be climbed) was added by the Russians during one of their occupations. Stairs on the east side lead up to the ramparts, and while the citadel is no longer the highest point in town since Erzurum began to spread to its rim of hills, it still lends the best view over the city – and the great, intimidating vastness of the plateau beyond.