HOURS
9am-6pm Apr-Oct, 8am-4pm Nov-Mar
The splendid İshak Paşa Palace stands on a small plateau beneath stark cliffs 6km southeast of town. Combining Ottoman, Seljuk, Georgian, Persian and Armenian design, the palace was begun in 1685 and completed in 1784 by an Ottoman general, İshak Paşa. Dolmuşes (minibuses; ₺2) rattle to the palace until about 5pm from a stop behind the belediye (city hall), leaving when about half-full. Taxis charge ₺25 one way, or ₺30 return with a one-hour wait.
The protective glass roofing over several parts of the palace means you can visit on a rainy day.
Until the early 1930s the palace was surrounded by the town of Eski Bayazıt, but that was demolished by the Turkish army after a Kurdish uprising (you can see its ruins scattered around below the palace), leading to the founding of modern Doğubayazıt.
The palace's elaborate main portal leads into the first courtyard, which would have been open to merchants and guests. Check out the dungeons in the far right corner.
Only family and special guests would have been allowed into the second courtyard, which gives access to the palace's selamlık (men's quarters) and haremlik (women's quarters). A staircase down to the left as you pass into the courtyard leads to servants' quarters and granaries. Steps on the right of the courtyard lead up to the selamlık. Inside, guests would have been entertained in the ceremonial hall-courtyard to the right. The selamlık also has a lovely mosque, which has kept much of its original relief decoration (note the trees of life) and ceiling frescoes.
Outside the entrance to the selamlık an elaborate tomb, believed to be that of İshak Paşa, is richly decorated with a mix of Seljuk carvings and Persian relief styles.
The marvellously decorated portal of the haremlik rises at the far end of the courtyard. These women's quarters include a kitchen, hamam, (squat) toilet and rooms with carved-stone fireplaces and panoramic windows, but the highlight here is undoubtedly the beautiful ceremonial hall, a melange of styles with walls topped by Seljuk triangular stonework, Armenian floral-relief decoration, ornate column capitals that show Georgian influence, and black-and-white chequerboard stone wall sections.
Clinging to the cliffs east of the palace are the remains of the Eski Kale (Old Castle), probably founded in Urartian times c 800 BC, with Eski Bayazıt's still-standing 16th-century mosque at its foot. To the castle's right stands the striped-stone tomb of Ahmad Khani(Ehmedê Xanî‎, a beloved 17th-century Kurdish poet and philosopher). The peaks above the car park here have excellent views of the palace, with Doğubayazıt and Mt Ararat beyond.