Ishak Pasha Palace on the Silk Route near the Iranian frontier, is situated on a high and vast platform of strategic importance on an area of 7600 meter square. It is not at all in the Ottoman tradition but is rather a mixture of Anatolian, Iranian and North Mesopotamian architectural tradition. The traditional model used in the construction of the Royal Palaces in the capital cities like Bursa, Edirne and Istanbul was taken as an example in the design of Ishak Pasha Palace. The western influence in Ottoman architecture during the post-classical period can be observed is Ishak Pasha Palace.

Ishak Pasha Palace is a semi-ruined palace and administrative complex located in the Doğubeyazıt district of Ağrı province of eastern Turkey. The Ishak Pasha palace is an Ottoman-period palace whose construction was started in 1685 by Colak Abdi Pasha, the bey of Beyazit province. According to the inscription on its door, the Harem Section of the palace was completed by his grandson Ishak (Isaac) Pasha in 1784.

The Palace is more of a complex than a palace; it is the second administrative campus after the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul and the most famous of the palaces built in recent decades.

The palace is built on a hill at the side of a mountain 5 km (3 mi) east of Doğubeyazıt. It was the last large monumental structure in the Ottoman Empire from the "Lale Devri" period. It is one of the most distinguished and magnificent examples of the 18th century Ottoman architecture and is very valuable in terms of art history. According to the top of the door inscription at the Harem Section it was constructed in 1784 (1199 H.).

As the ground building sits on is a valley slope, it is rocky and hard. Despite the fact that it is at the center of the Old Beyazıt city its three sides (north, west, south) are steep and sloped. There is a suitable flat area only to the east. The entrance of the palace is on that side, and it is also its narrowest façade.

As the palace was built in an age when castles ceased to be special and firearms were developed and were abundantly available, its defense towards the hills on the east is weak. Its main gate is the weakest point in that respect. The structure of the main gate is no different than those seen in the palaces built in Istanbul and elsewhere in Anatolia and has a neat stone workmanship and carving.

The İshak Pasha Palace is a rare example of the historical Turkish palaces. The palace was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 100 new lira banknote of 2005-2009.

Credit: Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism