Parigala ( az, Pəriqala, literally Fairy Castle) is considered one of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
's lesser-known archeological treasures and historical mysteries. The site consists of a limestone brick structure of three rooms with a window, built 300 metres up the side of a cliff in the foothills of the
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains,
: pronounced
* hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ,
: pronounced
* az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced
* rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ
* tr, Kafkas Dağla ...
near the village of Chardaghlar in northwest Azerbaijan.
The structure is believed to have been built during the
Caucasian Albanian
Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus: mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among t ...
period sometime between the fourth and eighth centuries. Few visit, as it sits in a remote part of Azerbaijan and requires much effort to access. The site includes a forty-metre stairway reinforced with oak beams and also a covered walkway. Local guides have erected a ladder to access the site, which requires considerable strength and mountaineering skill to access. The site is in a state of good repair, although the top of the stairway has been separated from the rock, perhaps by an earthquake. Wear on the limestone suggests that the structure was long inhabited.
History
Origins of the site
Parigala is a literal translation of "Fairy Castle", and Pari is also a female name. According to legend, Pari - a beautiful woman during the
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
(1155-1227) period - became the focus of a
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
warlord who requested permission of her father that she join his harem. Pari had other plans. She had the castle built to allow her to flee the warlord and eventually she leapt from it to her death on the rocks below.
It has more realistically been speculated that the structure was built as a monastery for harried monks during the early Christian period, although much archaeological research remains to be done to determine the origins of the site.
References
External links
Monuments and memorials in Azerbaijan
Castles and fortresses in Azerbaijan
Tourist attractions in Azerbaijan
{{Azerbaijan-struct-stub