Galacha ( azerb. Qalaça ) or Shamil-kala ( azerb. Şamilqala ) [1] [2] is a round tower located near the village of Ilisu of the Kakh region of Azerbaijan . The tower was built at the beginning of the XIX century during the advance of Russian troops into the mountains [3] . According to the order of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan on historical and cultural monuments, it is an architectural monument of local importance [1] .
| Tower | |
| Galacha | |
|---|---|
| azerb. Qalaça (Şamilqala) | |
 | |
| A country |  Azerbaijan |
| Village | Ilisu , Kakhsky District |
| Established | early 19th century |
| Status | Local Monument [1] |
Building History
By the beginning of the 19th century, the Ilisu sultans were unhappy with the power of the Jarians and sought to break their vassalism from Jar. In this regard, the ruler of the Ilisu Sultanate, Ahmed Khan, wished to bring Russian troops into his possessions and build a fortress. During this period, a tower was built, called the local population "Galacha", as well as two large Russian fortresses on the territory of the Sultanate [3] .
As a result, the Russians supported the Sultan, thereby strengthening his power, which was beneficial in contrast to the Jarsky society [3] .
Architecture and location
The tower is located on Mount Ezlidag [2] , on a ridge from which both the village of Ilisu and the entire district are viewed. Good visibility of the vast space suggests that the tower served as an observation post. The convenient location on the ground made the tower covered by nature itself, which, in turn, made it almost impregnable [3] .
In plan, the tower is round with a diameter of 9.2 m. It consists of two tiers and has gun and cannon embrasures designed for firing with a strong downward slope, so it was possible to shell the steep slopes of the mountain on the approaches to the tower. During the construction of the tower, extensive experience of military engineers of the Russian army was used [3] .
The outer perimeter of the tower in the first tier is divided into 24 parts. One of these parts is occupied by an entrance aperture of 1.55 m wide. A steep road 2–3 m wide leads to this aperture under a constant slope. The embrasures are located at an altitude of 1.30 m from the ground and are directed perpendicular to the planes of the facades. Parts of the walls with embrasures have a large slope inside the fortress, due to which loopholes formed for standing fire are formed at the level of the bypass area of the second tier [3] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Azərbaycan Respublikası ərazisində Dövlət mühafizəsinə götürülmüş daşınmaz tarix Mədəniyyət və abidələrinin əhəmiyyət dərəcələrinə görə bölgüsünün təsdiq edilməsi haqqında Azərbaycan Respublikası Nazirlər Kabinetinin Qərarı (Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan Republic on the historical and cultural monuments) (Azeri).
- ↑ 1 2 Əsrarəngiz Turizm Mərkəzi - Qax (Azeri) // Zaman. - 2014 .-- 1 aprel. - S. 7 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Muradov, 1980 , p. 108.
Literature
- Muradov V. G. Unexplored monuments of village architecture. Ilisu of the Kakh region of the Azerbaijan SSR // News of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR. - 1980. - No. 3 .