Tuesday, October 25, 2016

The castle of the Assassins.

There are many vague and mysterious tales about Alamut fortress and the things happened there. On 602 AD, a group of missionaries, who were named the Assassins, seized Alamut castle on the heights of northern Iran and selected it as their hideaway and military base. The leader of the Assassins, who named Hassan e Sabbah, lived in this fortress for 35 years and was known as “The Mountain Man”. He tried to propagate Ismaili faction and believed that Iran should have the same level of prosperity as it had before Arabs conquered Iran.


Alamut fortress is built on a huge cliff over the Alamut valley and Gazarkhan village in Qazvin province. The walls of the fortress are built following the form and direction of the rocks. Three of the towers are still standing and the only entrance way to this castle is a 6-meter tunnel on the northeast of the fortress. This enormous fortress includes two main parts and the whole construction is built with stones, bricks and plaster. The architects have embedded cisterns in the fortress and the water was transferred up to the castle through canals. Some deep ditches have been dug around different sides of the cliff to prevent the entrance of the enemies. Alamut castle has been burnt and dilapidated by Holaku (the Mogul king) and this was an end to the mysterious stories of Hasan Sabbah’s castle. It is said that Alamut fortress was used as a prison during Safavid dynasty.

The route to Alamut fortress is an adventure itself. For reaching Alamut fortress, you have to reach the top of 200 meters hill with steep stairs. The landscape is awesome and the road to this area passes through nice and old villages with cherry and plum gardens. Ovan Lake is also on the way to Alamut fortress. This lake, which is about 7 hectares, is a habitat for different species of birds and is surrounded by the green weald and tall trees during summer and spring. Join Iran untouched tour for visiting Qazvin and its attractions.

The heights of Alamut.

No comments:

Post a Comment