The fortress of Baghesh

For most of their history Baghesh (Bitlis) and its fortress were an important centre of Armenian culture and statehood. The Baghesh region (including the provinces of Aghdznik and Turuberan) was part of historic Greater Armenia. The fortress of Baghesh is first mentioned in the 7th century. It was the central fortress of the city, which until the late Middle Ages was inhabited mainly by Armenians.

At the beginning of the 20th century Baghesh was one of the six Armenian vilayets of the Ottoman Empire, with about 10,000–15,000 Armenians out of a total population of 30,000–40,000. Many old Armenian stone houses survived in the city. The massacres and deportations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, culminating in the Armenian Genocide of 1915, ended the centuries-old Armenian presence in the region.

The photograph shows the fortress rising on a rock, with stone walls. Below is a street with houses, trees, a few passers-by and a cart.