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Asagi Anzaf Kalesi |
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Type:
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Fortress | |||||
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Altitude:
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Diameter:
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Region:
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Eastern Anatolia | |||||
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Province:
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Van | |||||
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District:
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Özalp | |||||
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Village:
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Dereüstü | |||||
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TAYEx:
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Registration State:
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For detailed registration information please refer to Turkish pages. | |||||
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| Location: Lower Anzaf Fortress lies 11 km northeast of the Urartian capital, Tushpa, close to the modern motorway and railway between Van and Iran. |
| Geography and Environment: It was founded on a calcerous and slightly bumpy rock, 1900 m high above the sea level. Strecthing in the north-south direction, the fortress measures 62x98 m in dimensions with a rectangular plan. It was founded on an area covering approximately 6000 square meters. Having a very significant defensive role during the ancient periods, the Lower Anzaf Fortress was located at the last crucial point of the historic roads, which ran from northwest Iran to the east, and from Transcaucasia to the north, heading toward Tushpa, the capital of the Urartu Kingdom. It was founded on the narrowest section of the Erçek-Özalp-Saray Plain, which now starts from the Turkish-Iranian border, getting narrower towards the Lake Van to the west. It is almost impossible to find alike of Lower Anzaf Fortress in the Van region. The fortress served as an outpost which provided protection for both the Upper Anzaf Fortress and the Urartian capital, Tushpa and Rusahinili (Toprakkale) against any potential attacks. The most important feature of the Lower Anzaf Fortress, which distinguishes it from its contemporaries, Kalecik to the north the Van Plain Aşağı, and Zivistan to the south of the same plain is the presence of curtain wall and bastions, which facilitated defence and also helped to support the weight of the super structures. |
| Destruction Details: |
