Tour Guide, Gyumri, Armenia
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The fort with high towers and thick walls is closed by River Karkar valley from two sides. It is fastened with double-ramparts, with which it makes the canyon impregnable between the mountains. The towers are round-shape-scheme protective constructions, which are built with small river-stones and lime-stones, with lime-mortar. The towers are communicated by trench-like passages in the cogged top parts of the wall. In the walls from inside there are numerous holes and different width-passages - firing sports. From some passages through walls like air-passages top special pipe-like openings stretch.
Since ancient times the fort together with the medieval Armenian village next to it has been called Mayraberd. As an arsenal the Askeran exists since the half of 18c. And for protecting from 1788-89 Persian compaigns, it was fastened and turned into a fort ("Askeran" in Turkish means arsenal). The fort walls are 2m thick and 9m tall. The walls of this vanguard fort of the Karkar valley stretch over 1.5km and many a times played the role of protecting shield during Shushi defense.