The Armory

The historical tower, which is popularly called 'Armory' because it was used as an ammunition depot during the Russian occupation of Trabzon, has been in various rumors since the 1300s. It is also known as Fatih Tower or Irena Tower, which is one of the most remarkable and most controversial structures in Trabzon! It is written in some sources that it was built in the 1340s to be a meeting place for the Archaeocracy of Trabzon by The Empress Irena, which is not exactly known since the inscription has not reached to this day. Another information about the tower is the inscription from 1887 on the tower gate, including Abdulhamit the II’s Tugra (Sultan’s signature). In this inscription, it is written that this structure was built in place of a structure that was left behind by the time of Fatih Sultan Mehmet Khan. There are two sections as a condo in the interior of the tower, which is about 40 meters in diameter and 25 meters high. The interior section is four and the outer part is three storeys. The interior and exterior structures have three windows with oval arches. On the western part, the historic building with a police station has a high protective wall. The Armory used as ammunition depots during the 1916-1918 Russian occupation; Unfortunately, on July 9, 1919, had an explosion. The restoration of the historic tower, which is called the 'Armory' among the people, was started in 2006 with permission from the Ministry of Tourism. The restoration of the historic tower was completed in four years and turned into a tourism business in 2010.