The construction of Ishak Pasha Palace, situated on a hill 5km from Doğubayazıt (Bazîd) city in the eastern province of Ağrı (Agirî), was started in 1685 by Evdi Pasha, son of Mir Mihemed Pirbela, and completed in 1784.
Dazzling with its magnificent architecture, the palace has a distinguished place in Kurdish culture, and has been witness to both good and bad times.
The region served as the headquarters for Kurdish rebels during the Ağrı Rebellion (also known as the Ararat Rebellion) in 1930. It has a splendid view of the region’s formidable natural formation Greater Ararat, a volcanic cone with an elevation of 5,137 m, and the highest peak in Turkey.
Other places of attraction for visitors to the region, apart from Ishak Pasha Palace are the Old Bazid Mosque, the Urartu Castle and the shrine of Ahmad Khani (Ehmedê Xanî), a 17th century Kurdish intellectual, scholar, mystic and poet.
The palace is situated on a hill which is rugged and unapproachable on three sides. It consists of one-storey, two-storey and three-storey sections, and has two large courtyards, a state chamber, a mosque, 116 rooms, kitchen, bath and stable. On the walls of the Palace there are maps and figures belonging to Kurdish, Persian, Indian, Armenian and other cultures, indicating the coexistence of different nations in the region.
It has been a target of the Turkish state many times in the past, and its walls riddled with bullet holes. Turkish soldiers have also caused great damage to the maps on the walls, having frequently used the palace as a camp.
The palace once served as the home and academy of Ahmad Khani and is in UNESCO’s World Heritage list. It is visited by thousands every year. It was occupied by the Russians in 1928-29, its golden gate was taken to Moscow and it has been in Moscow Museum since that time.
