Kuh Qal'eh (Mountain Fortress), Ferdows

🕰️When was it built?

The fortress was one of the important Ismaili strongholds in Quhistan, and the exact date it was founded is not clear. At the time of the Mongol invasion the castle was plundered and set on fire. The site is on Iran's National Heritage List as number 29931.

🏛️What was it built for?

The castle's position made it possible to watch over the plain and the caravan roads of Tun. The complex had several defensive parts and spaces for storing food, weapons, animals and water; for life in a fortress on a mountaintop, stores of water and food mattered as much as strong walls.

👀What you will see

• Towers and ramparts built of rubble stone with gypsum and sarooj mortar; look at the surviving parts only from a safe path.
• Layered walls set at different heights on the mountain, dividing the castle from bottom to top.
• Cisterns carved into the rock are part of the site; look at their openings from a distance and don't go inside.
• From the heights of the site the surrounding plain comes into view, which makes clear why the castle was placed to watch the old roads.

💡Something interesting

Some of the cisterns collected rain and snow so that the people inside would have water during a siege. These stone structures show that keeping water up on the heights was part of the castle's defence plan; walls and towers alone were not enough to hold out.

🎒Good to know before you go