The Naryn Castle (In

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: نارین قلعه) or Narin Castle is a mud-adobe fort or castle in the town of

Meybod Meybod () is a city in the Central District of Meybod County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Meybod is a major desert city and the second most populous city in the province. History Meybod ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Built some 2,000 to 6,000 years ago, it has four towers and stands 40 meters (130 ft) high and contained a plumbing system. Naryn (or Narenj) Castle is common language for Mehrjerd Castle.

Architecture

The ruins of the structure stands 40 meters (130 ft) high from its base. Although built between 2,000 and 6,000 years ago, it contains what seems to be a type of plumbing system (made out of a kind of mortar called ''

sarooj Sarooj is a traditional water-resistant mortar used in Iranian architecture, used in the construction of bridges and yakhchāl, ancient Persian ice houses.Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

, it has a terrace high on top of the structure whose circulation is provided by two helical stairwells (whose walls have caved in, making it inaccessible). The structure also has a large underground chamber (now filled by rubble), was possibly used as a prison. Four towers surround the entire compound, and a large gate furnishes access to a large courtyard. This building has been built as an old fortress with three different floors, each for a different class of society. Structures like Naryn Castle constituted the government stronghold in some of the older (pre-Islamic) towns of central

. Some of these castles incorporate mud bricks of the

Medes The Medes were an Iron Age Iranian peoples, Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media (region), Media between western Iran, western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the m ...

period and of the

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

and

Sassanid The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

dynasties. Some believe that the Narin castles are descendants of ancient

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

fire-temples; some of the castles in Narin and

, in Yazd province, are also called ''nareng'' castles (orange castles), possibly by folk etymology.

Current conditions

The castle at Meybod is currently under study but has not been faring very well. The structure seems to have been affected by numerous earthquakes throughout the ages.

Gallery

File:Ciudadela de Meybod, Irán, 2016-09-20, DD 22.jpg, View of the yard. File:Ciudadela de Meybod, Irán, 2016-09-20, DD 09.jpg, Interior of the citadel. File:Ciudadela de Meybod, Irán, 2016-09-20, DD 10.jpg, Top area. File:Ciudadela de Meybod, Irán, 2016-09-20, DD 21.jpg, Ruins of a former building. File:Ciudadela de Meybod, Irán, 2016-09-20, DD 11.jpg, View from the top. File:Ciudadela de Meybod, Irán, 2016-09-20, DD 06.jpg, View of Meybod from the citadel. File:Wiki Loves Monuments 2018 Iran - Meybod - Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle -1.jpg, Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle The View of Map File:Wiki Loves Monuments 2018 Iran - Meybod - Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle -2.jpg, Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle The View of History File:Wiki Loves Monuments 2018 Iran - Meybod - Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle -5.jpg, Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle - The View from castle to front yard File:Wiki Loves Monuments 2018 Iran - Meybod - Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle -8.jpg, Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle - Part of the castle from inside File:Wiki Loves Monuments 2018 Iran - Meybod - Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle -6.jpg, Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle - A Panoramic view of Meybod and Back of castle capture form the high part of castle File:Wiki Loves Monuments 2018 Iran - Meybod - Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle -9.jpg, Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle, a view of castle from inside File:Wiki Loves Monuments 2018 Iran - Meybod - Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle -7.jpg, Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle - Some tunnels inside the castle File:Wiki Loves Monuments 2018 Iran - Meybod - Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle -10.jpg, Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle - Panoramic view of Meybod from Castle File:Wiki Loves Monuments 2018 Iran - Meybod - Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle -4.jpg, Narin Qal'eh or Narin Castle

Sources

{{coord, 32.2261, N, 54.0145, E, source:wikidata, display=title Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century Sasanian castles Architecture in Iran Archaeological sites in Iran Buildings and structures in Yazd province Buildings and structures on the Iran National Heritage List Castles in Iran

Architecture

Current conditions

Gallery

See also

Sources