Pertek Castle

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. 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. The name Pertek comes from the Armenian word Բերդակ (Berdak) in the local dialect, a diminutive of բերդ (berd, “fortress”).

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.

Text adapted from “Pertek Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Pertek Castle ranks #3,722 of 5,479 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #68 of the 107 mapped in Turkey. See how Turkey compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗