Sartka Castle, known as "Pasha Kora Castle", is one of the ancient monuments in Kurdistan and it is located in the Doukan region in Suleimani Province. This castle's history goes back to the "Soran" Mirs i.e., the nineteenth century. The castle was built by Mir Mohammad, Soran Pasha, from 1813 to 1837. Now, only a part of this castle's rooms and wings have remained.
Sartka Castle is located near Sartka village on a part of the "Kilka Simaq" mountain ranges and is 3 kilometers away from the southwest of Doukan town and it is overlooking Doukan Lake. It is also 50 kilometers away from Suleimani city.
The hill on which the castle has been built is almost 130 meters high. It is very difficult to climb the front part of this hill. On the south and north part of this castle, there are two deep valleys. Climbing the back of the hill is easy. The hill that the castle has been built upon is covered in oak trees and the area is very suitable for keeping livestock.
The Structure and Form of Building the Castle
The walls are made of stones, lime, and construction plaster. Inside the walls are filled with small stones and rocks found in the Zab River in order to fill the gaps between the large rocks and strengthen the walls. The walls of the first floor of this castle are 1.70 meters wide but from the second floor, the walls get thinner about 35 cm wide so that they would reduce the weight of the walls.
In order to protect the outside of the castle, there are no windows on the walls and only the inside walls have windows. The first-floor walls are 7.5 meters high.
What is very interesting about this castle is that all the parts of this castle were made in a way to make it a suitable military base with all kinds of details needed for such a structure. Benefiting from the natural location of the castle, they have proved to pay attention to defending strategies, and throughout Kurdistan's history this technique has been the main reason for building castles and these wide and strong walls have narrated the story of Kurds' resistance.
Pasha Kora Castle is made in a square shaped form. Built as a military base, this castle is located over a hill with walls that surround its north, south, east, and west parts and a watch tower is built on every corner of it.
The Reason for Building Sartka Castle by Mir Mohammad
"Mir Mohammad" had considered the protection of trading roads very important. When his power and territory expanded, he continually resisted the attacks of the Ottomans and the Safavids in order to protect the trading roads.
Thus, protecting the trading roads became a reason for building Pasha Kora castle. Another reason, however, was that during the Ottoman reign using weapons such as "pistols and cannons" became very popular so structure building changed technically. Pasha Kora Castle built over the small Zab River was one of these castles that was built with the new architecture. The importance of this region made the authorities build military castles.
Sartka Castle as a Tourist Attraction
Nowadays, this historical and touristic monument does not receive proper attention, and part of its walls have fallen and been ruined. Although many local and foreign tourists and college students visit this castle annually, it has never been repaired and nothing has been done to prevent it from collapsing.
