Kuh Castle, Qaen

🕰️When was it built?

Its exact date is not known, but the fortress in its present form is tied to rebuilding and use by the Ismailis in the Seljuk era. The castle is also known as Hossein Qaeni and was added to the National Heritage List on 10 March 2002 as number 4803.

🏛️What was it built for?

The complex was used for command, for housing soldiers and for keeping animals. Rooms and corridors linked its different parts, and cisterns were needed to store water. Its place high on the mountain helped keep the roads and the plain below in view.

👀What you will see

• The walls and the bodies of the towers are mostly built of stone and sarooj; the pointing between the stones is one of the building's details.
• The semicircular tower in the middle part, with rooms beside it, stands between the east and west walls.
• The remains of rooms and connecting corridors follow the uneven mountain, and some rooms had two storeys.
• The cistern in the northern part is built of brick and mortar; look at its opening and rim only from a safe distance.
• The citadel stands at the highest point of the complex, with a view over the plain to the north and west.

💡Something interesting

The castle was linked with other Ismaili strongholds, and fire and smoke were used to send messages. The height of the mountain did not just keep enemies away; it could also pass warnings of danger over long distances.

Good to know before you go