Tuspa Van Castle
Van Castle is a fortification structure that was built by the Urartian Kingdom from stones and has a bird's eye view of the Urartian capital Tuspa. Located on the shore of Lake Van, 5 km from the city of Van, this castle was built on a steep rock. The building is 1800 m long, 120 m wide and 80 m high. The castle was founded in the 9th century BC by Sarduri, son of Lutipri, between 840 BC and 825 BC. A large number of such fortifications are found in present-day Armenia, Turkey, and Iran. Generally, such structures are built on the rocks and slopes that have emerged from the earth. Such forts are often used not to counter foreign armies, but for territorial control. The ruins of this building on the outskirts of the city of Van support that its walls were built in the Middle Ages. There are also rumors that this castle was built by giant people who lived at that time. Because it is thought that it was impossible to build the Van Castle under the conditions of that time.