There are some places in Kerman province that although they are great to visit, people know less about them. Therefore, we will let you know more about these places.
One of them is Rayen Citadel. It is one of the most beautiful citadels in the world. Rayen Castle is a building placed in heart of the Lut desert that invites every visitor to know more about history. It is the world’s second-biggest adobe building.
Among several relics of Kerman, Rayen Citadel in the desert city of Rayen has special importance. It is a glorious structure built in a desert region. They say that the historical castle of Rayen has more than 22 thousand square meters of area for its self and 44 thousand square meters as its private region. It is the second biggest adobe building (the first one is Bam Citadel). This spectacular building is in the southwest part of Rayen City, placed on top of a hill in Hazaran Mountain.
Based on historical evidence, this castle was built after the citadel of Bam. There is evidence informing them have built this castle during Sassanid Dynasty. During the long history of this castle, neither ruler nor king could have won over this castle and no one could have conquered this castle. If you visit the castle, it means that you are visiting history itself. Rayen Castle is an adobe building and is 2200 meters above mean sea level.
Rayen Castle has too many similarities with Citadel of Bam. These similarities include their architecture, appearance, and the materials used to build them. Its area is smaller than the Citadel of Bam. Its area is equal to one-quarter of Bam Citadel’s area. The Citadel of Rayen or the Castle of Rayen, gain increased attention from visitors after the earthquake of Bam and now, too many people visit it during a year.
The Citadel of Rayen has a squared-shaped area and there are several towers around it. Other buildings and main structures are inside of the castle and the walls are protecting them. There are 10-metered fences all around the castle. This castle has only one entrance gate and it is in the east part of the castle. A big façade is put over the gate that welcomes all the visitors and tourists.
The pattern used for building the Citadel of Rayen is a good example of old Iranian cities’ residential castles and it demonstrates the special architecture of that era very well. This citadel has three main parts: alcove, lords’ settlement, and general settlement. There are different and numerous partitions like zoorkhaneh, mosque, stable, etc. they call both lords’ settlement and general people’s settlement Shares. Each main part of the castle has its own towers and circular stairs that divide each part from the others. Most of the buildings of the citadel have two or three floors.
The Citadel of Rayen, as told before, has different parts. People living there have built these various parts based on their needs. The Citadel of Rayen has 36 parts. In this part of the article, IranTrawell will give you some general information about these parts and their special uses:
There are 15 primary parts including the watchtowers. They used these watchtowers for guarding of the castle. Other parts had their own special uses. If you were not that lucky to visit the Citadel of Bam before the disastrous earthquake that happened there in recent years, we fully recommend you to visit this castle. Do not forget about it.
Source: https://en.irantrawell.com/rayen-castle-worlds-second-biggest-adobe-building-in-kerman/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayen_Castle