Medieval (fortifications on an ancient citadel)
Şanlıurfa Castle
Overview
Crowning the hill directly above Balıklıgöl, Şanlıurfa Castle is the city's historic citadel, fortified over many centuries on a height that has guarded Urfa since antiquity. Its most prominent landmarks are two tall standing columns — known locally as the 'Throne of Nimrod' — that rise from the ramparts and are tied into the city's Abraham legends. The walls and rock-cut ditch offer commanding views over the old town, the sacred pools and the mosque courtyards below, and the citadel is closed for excavation and restoration, with reopening targeted for the end of 2026; until then it is seen from Balıklıgöl and Ayn-ı Zeliha below.
Read the full guide to Şanlıurfa Castle on gobeklitepe.co.uk →
Highlights
- The twin columns known locally as the Throne of Nimrod
- A rock-cut moat some 12 metres deep severing the citadel spur
- Ramparts overlooking Balıklıgöl's pools, domes and minarets
- Corinthian columns of 240-242 CE honouring Queen Shalmath
- Floodlit walls glowing above the old town after dark
History & Discovery
The citadel height was fortified long before Islam: its two Corinthian columns were erected in 240–242 CE under Edessa's Abgar dynasty, one carrying a Syriac inscription honouring Queen Shalmath. The standing walls and rock-cut ditch owe most to the Islamic centuries, with major rebuilding from the ninth century onward. Crusaders of the County of Edessa held the fortress from 1098 until Zengi took the city in 1144, and Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman repairs followed; recent excavations have found a rock-cut tomb possibly tied to the Abgar kings.
Nature & Wildlife
The citadel rock is a nesting ledge in its own right: rock doves and pallid swifts wheel round the ramparts, kestrels hunt the rock-cut ditch, and black redstarts flick along the walls in winter. Caper bushes and thistles root in the crevices, with the green of Gölbaşı park spread just below.
Geology
The castle crowns Damlacık hill, a limestone spur above the spring line of Balıklıgöl, and its defences are partly quarried rather than built: a rock-cut moat some 12 metres deep severs the spur from the plateau on the landward side, while tombs and chambers honeycomb the same soft bedrock.
Mythology & Legend
Two lone columns on the citadel are known locally as the 'Throne of Nimrod'. Tradition holds they were the legs of the tyrant's catapult, from which Abraham was hurled towards a pyre below — the very spot where, stories say, fire became the waters of Balıklıgöl. Evliya Çelebi recorded the tale in the 1600s.
The landscape
The view
From the ramparts the whole old city spreads below — the twin columns of the so-called Throne of Nimrod overhead, Balıklıgöl's pools, domes and minarets beneath, and the plain fading south.
Photography
Late afternoon light is kindest for the panorama over the pools, the twin columns silhouette dramatically at sunset, and after dark the floodlit walls photograph beautifully from Balıklıgöl below.
Practical information
When to visit
The steep climb is far kinder in spring and autumn; in summer take it in early morning or towards sunset, as the exposed ramparts catch strong sun with little shelter through the day.
Getting there
The castle hill rises directly above the Balıklıgöl quarter, so the best views are from the pools; no transport is needed beyond reaching the old town itself.
Where to stay
Old-town konak guesthouses cluster at the foot of the castle hill around Balıklıgöl, making a dawn or dusk climb effortless; city hotels sit a short taxi ride further out.
Food & water
Carry a bottle for the stairs — there is nothing to buy up on the ramparts — and refill afterwards at the tea gardens and shops around the pools at the base of the hill.
Safety
The citadel is closed for excavation and restoration: do not try to climb to the ramparts, whose edges are unguarded and whose works are active.
Accessibility
The citadel interior is closed while excavation and restoration continue, so there is no access to the ramparts. The view of the walls and columns from the level promenades around Balıklıgöl needs no climbing at all.
Visitor tips
While the citadel is closed, watch the twin columns from the far side of the Halil-ür Rahman pool at sunset, then stay as the floodlights come on above the water.
Take care
- Closed for excavation and restoration — do not climb to the ramparts
- Seen best from Balıklıgöl and Ayn-ı Zeliha below
Location
37.1459800, 38.7840600 · Open in OpenStreetMap
Audio Guides
Şanlıurfa Castle · 3 min 10 s
From the edge of the sacred pools, tip your head back. The hill above Balıklıgöl is Damlacık, a limestone spur standing over the spring line, and the crown of walls along its top is Şanlıurfa Castle, the citadel that has guarded this city since antiquity. Two tall columns rise clear of the ramparts against the sky. Fix on those. The citadel itself is closed while archaeologists excavate and restorers repair it, so this is a guide to what you can see from down here by the water. The columns first. They are Corinthian, raised between the years two hundred and forty and two hundred and forty-two of the common era under the Abgar dynasty that ruled Edessa, as this city was then known, and one of them still carries a Syriac inscription honouring Queen Shalmath. Local tradition tells a very different story about them. These, people here will say, were the legs of the tyrant Nimrod's catapult, from which the young prophet Abraham was flung out over the town towards the pyre below. The pillars are known as the Throne of Nimrod, and the great traveller Evliya Çelebi wrote the tale down in the sixteen hundreds. From where you stand you can trace it: the columns above, the drop of the cliff, and here at its foot the pools where, the stories say, fire became water and the burning wood became fish. The defences reward a close look. Most of what stands owes to the Islamic centuries, with major rebuilding from the ninth century onwards and repairs afterwards by Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman hands. Crusaders of the County of Edessa held this fortress from ten ninety-eight until Zengi took the city in eleven forty-four. Notice, too, how much of the defence was quarried rather than built: a rock-cut moat some twelve metres deep slices the spur clean away from the plateau on the landward side, and the same soft bedrock is honeycombed with tombs and chambers, among them a rock-cut tomb found in recent excavations and possibly tied to the Abgar kings themselves. The rock is busy with life as well. Rock doves and pallid swifts wheel round the ramparts, kestrels hunt the ditch, black redstarts flick along the walls in winter, and caper bushes and thistles root wherever a crevice offers them a chance, with the green of Gölbaşı park spread out below. When the citadel reopens, the view from the top takes in the whole old city, the pools, the mosque courtyards, the bazaar roofs and the plain running south towards Harran. For now, the best hour is the one before dark: find a tea glass beside the water and look up as the light fails. The walls come on floodlit above the pools, and the two old columns hold their place against the dark, exactly as they have for eighteen centuries.