To the east of Erzurum, close to the ancient caravan route, and now the highway Erzurum - Tabriz, adjacent arcuate mountain Hasanbaba. Over the road, controlling the valley hangs Hasankale ancient fortress at the foot of which lies the small town Pasinler (formerly Hasankale and Hesenqele, which means fortress Hassan).

The fortress is located on the ancient Silk Road, in the northern part Pasinskoy plain, on a cliff near a mountain slope. Erzurum fortress supposed, was built by the Byzantines in the first half of the fifth century BC

Citadel rises to the edge of heaven and truly breathtaking, when you look at it from below, from Ilıca. This fortress - a beautiful stone building, majestic, like the Milky Way, it is a kind of shield on the plain. In addition to the commandant, the imam and muezzin, there's nobody there. On the Castle Hill in the middle of the city you can hear a concert muezzins (the muezzin - calling the faithful to prayer from the top of the minaret).

Horses and donkeys can not climb this mountain slope, so in ancient times to deliver everything in the fortress had to manually. For Murad Khan IV - conqueror of Yerevan it was an important castle, which, despite its small size, served as a watchtower.

Pasinler - it's pretty much a fortress, which has two rows of walls. It is a beautiful stone building, which has the shape of a quadrangle from the huge resembles a swan. Its walls have a height of about eighteen yards. On three sides there are very shallow ditches, but much fear and fear no enemy, as there is very low place, and the ground soaked with water and, if desired, even the enemy can not dig trenches here. If you dig to a depth of at least one arm, then immediately performs water - it is rotten and hopeless place.

Erzincan gates facing west. This gate with iron target sizes are huge. Blind gates and gate Ilıca, located in the eastern part locked. In the fortress, there were about seven hundred soldiers, was a perfect arsenal and sixty small and big guns.

Inside the citadel is located five hundred ninety winter brick houses covered with clay, she has nine quarters and nine mihrab. The most beautiful Mosque of those present on the territory of the fortress, a mosque Suleiman Khan. This mosque old work, and low with one minaret. It is also covered with clay. There is a small market, a caravanserai, a sauna and six schools for children. All residents were brave, capable, skilled and skilled people, and in spite of their poverty, amazingly hospitable.

Like the fortress itself, and near it there vineyards and orchards - here most of the year reigns harsh and extremely cold winters. However, despite this, the yield of cereals is quite rich.