🇦🇲🏰 DASHTADEM FORTRESS ~ ARAGATSOTN : Armenia

Dashtadem is a unique fortress compared to other Armenian castles where there is no natural accessibility, the defensive structure of the fortress is composed of high walls to defend

Said to be built on the foundations of an Urartian stronghold, straight onto basalt & tuff rock formations, its current appearance was shaped during the era of the KAMSARAKAN NOBLE FAMILY

The style and the straight up and down perfect outer walls feel like its conveying a message of strength and leadership, I feel like there must have been many events and festivities in the vicinity of this Fortress and would have been a hub of excitement and life

The fortress is surrounded by an octagonal wall built during 19th c.

There are 8 bastions around the perimeter walls and in-between are the curtain walls

A decagonal interior wall surrounds the fortress keep and the chapel – 5 of the 10 bastions remain standing

The keep consists of 4 semi circular towers (12th c?) they sit atop of older 10th c. Armenian fortifications

Beneath these towers are large cisterns and tunnels that lead to the top of the keep

I sat on the top of the fortress for a while in the hot sun watching everyone wandering around taking photos and enjoying being on top of the fortress, It was a bit of a climb and I just appreciate being able to even have the chance to climb up as if we were in the west somewhere there would be NO way they would allow it as its unstable, no walls up around the fortress and no entry fee or guard

The fortress also encloses a small 10th c. church called St Sarkis which has been entirely rebuilt recently

I find it amazing the way the walls were built and how they stand so strong with no cement holding the stones

The elements around the fortress, the stones date back to the 5th c. and the inscriptions date back to the 12th c.

The Arabic inscription is from 1174 in Kufic script – stating the structure is to Sultan bin Mahmud (Shahanshah) one of the Shaddadid Princes that ruled in Ani

From the top of the fortress you can see the vast expanse of dry arid countryside and just in the near distance is a cemetery with a church which you can see if you zoom in with an SLR camera

Zoomed in…. 1.7km in the middle of a cemetery is the 7th c. Kristapor Church

They did some reconstruction work on Dastadem which cost 500 million dram, they have only done 270 million of the reconstruction so far hopefully they haven’t pocketed the rest and will continue !