Round Tower (Mardakan)

Round Tower (Dairəvi Mərdəkan qalası) is a castle located in Mardakan, Baku, Azerbaijan. The castle is also called Shikh fortress by local residents.

History
At the top of the gate of tower there are three inscriptions written in Arabic on a large rectangular stone layer. According to the first inscription on the castle, it was built during reign of Fariburz III. The second inscription shows that, the owner of the Round Mardakan fortress was Ihsac bin Kakuli and it was built in 1232. The third inscription indicates that it was built by architect Abd al-Majid Masood oghlu.

Architectural features
The height of the Round Mardakan Tower is 16 meters. It is built of limestone and lime solution. The fortress surrounding the tower consists of a square-shaped yard (25x25 m), surrounded by stone walls, seven meters high on each side. At corners of the fortress wall, there are towers, railing and watchtowers. The tower is round in the plan and it gets narrow upward.

The height of the tower is divided into three parts. These portions are covered with domes and connected to each-other with an installed stair. To enlight the second and third floors there are special windows, enlarging from outside to inside, in the form of a narrow strip.