At a gun-shot distance on the north side is a high mountain, at the foot of which this fortress rises on a separate hill; the lower castle is situated in the plain, and has five strong walls. The gate of the outer or lower castle looks to the east, and that of the inner or upper castle to the west. There is only the house of the commander, and barracks for the garrison of two hundred men; no bath, market, or any remarkable building. The lower town or suburb is surrounded by two strong walls, and has three iron gates which are adorned with all kinds of armour. One of these gates on the west is the water-gate, also called the gate of the troops, looking towards Erzerúm; the second or middle gate opens to Kaghzmún; the third to the east is the gate of Behrám-páshá, opening towards Eriván. Watchmen keep watch the whole night, lighting torches and lamps. The lower castle is surrounded by a lake instead of a ditch, which encircles it from the middle gate to the gate of Behrám-páshá, and hence it is impossible to get possession of the fortress. There are two hundred and twenty strong towers, and two thousand and eighty battlements; the circumference of the whole is five thousand seven hundred paces. The buildings consist of three thousand houses, forty-seven mosques, in eight of which prayer is performed on Fridays; the most remarkable is that of Sheikh Hassan Kharkání, built by Lala Páshá; the mosque of Waíz Efendí at the water-gate; the great mosque of Súleimán Efendí, which was formerly a church; the mosque of Hossein Kiaya called the red church; the mosque of Omar Efendí, which was destroyed when the Persians got possession of the castle, solely on account of being named after Omar, and turned into a stable; the mosque of Káltákjí-zadeh, at the gate of Behrám-páshá; the mosque of Beirám Chelebi-zadeh; and on the south side of the town across the bridge, the mosque of Emír Yússúf Páshá, all covered with terraces. There are eighteen schools for boys, but no colleges for lectures on the sciences, which are all held in the mosques. Within the water-gate is the bath of Emír Yússúf Páshá; within the middle gate is the old bath. There are no houses for reading of the Korán or tradition, or for dining the poor, who are, however, well taken care of by private generosity; there is no stone Bezestán, but two hundred shops in which Indian and Persian wares are found. No gardens and vineyards on account of the cold temperature of the climate. The inhabitants are a lively set of people who gain their living by agriculture and commerce.