Bitlis Castle Bitlis Castle was constructed in 312 BC by Badlis, a commander of Alexander the Great, in the city of Bitlis, which is named after the said commander. The castle is an imposing structure with a circumference of 2800 meters and a height of 56 meters. Its 7-meter-thick fortified walls originally encompassed a castle, 300 households, an inn, and a mosque, among other structures. Presently, only the castle remains, with 670 battlements and no defensive ditches surrounding it due to its location on a steep cliff. Restoration work on the castle commenced in 2004 and has been ongoing at regular intervals. In 641, Bitlis and its castle were conquered by Iyad bin Gane during the reign of Omar bin al-Khattab. Under Seljuk rule, Bitlis became part of the Ottoman lands by the 16th century. During World War One, Bitlis was occupied by the Russians for five months in 1916, but it was reclaimed by the Turkish forces under the command of Mustafa Kemal on August 8th of that same year.