Micingert Castle: 80 Hikers Explore a Rock Fortress in Kars
Eighty hikers visited a rock fortress near İnkaya village in Kars.
About 80 hikers walked to Micingert Castle in Kars Province’s Sarıkamış district this weekend. The Sarıkamış Nature, Sports and Cycling Club organised the trip. The fortress stands near İnkaya village and overlooks the Erzurum-Kars highway, which is why it still matters to anyone interested in the region’s layered past.
The club says it holds events every weekend to introduce Sarıkamış’s landscapes and historic sites. Club co-founder Erhan Özkan said this week’s group came to explore the castle’s historic fabric and natural setting together.
Micingert Castle: a fortress on a single rock ridge
The castle rises from a steep, solid mass of rock about 300 metres long and 15 metres wide. That position gave defenders a clear advantage. It also put the fortress above one of the main routes between Erzurum and Kars.
Nobody knows for certain who built it or when. Based on its architecture and remains, the castle is thought to date from the Iron Age to the Middle Ages.
Traces of several civilisations in the stone
Visitors can still see water pipes, remains of a kümbet (a tomb tower common in medieval Anatolia), Islamic inscriptions, stone decoration and reliefs. These remains suggest that the site was used in different periods and altered over time.
The castle is linked to Arab, Byzantine, Seljuk, Saltuk and Ottoman rule. The Saltuks were a Turkish dynasty based in Erzurum in the 12th century. The source also says the castle mattered along the frontier during the Ottoman-Russian War.
Academic studies describe the place in similar terms. They place the castle in İnkaya, a village once called Micingert, and mention a Saltuk-era fortress there. One study says Timur captured the castle in 1394. That detail comes from a single study, and we have not cross-checked it.
Why a hiking trip matters for heritage
Walking trips like this one bring attention to lesser-known sites in eastern Türkiye. Sarıkamış is better known for its winter scenery and the history of the First World War. Yet its smaller fortresses show how many powers have passed through this border region.
Readers who enjoy medieval Anatolian history may also like the Seljuk era in Alparslan: Büyük Selçuklu. Please remember that the series is a dramatisation and not a record of this castle’s history.
The club has not announced its next destination. It says it will continue its weekend walks around Sarıkamış.
Source: SonDakika
Featured image: SonDakika
