Mus

Mus city, eastern Turkey. It lies at the mouth of a gorge on the slopes of Kurtik Mountain, at the south side of a wide plain in the Murat River valley. The surrounding hills are covered with vineyards and oak scrub.The castle (now in ruins) and the town were reputedly founded by the Armenian king Mushel I Mamikonian in the 6th century. Later called Tarun by the Arabs, the town came under Ottoman domination in 1515. The major part of Mus was destroyed by an earthquake in 1966.The city lies on the rail line between Elazıg and Tatvan and is linked by road to Erzurum (85 miles [137 km] north), Bitlis (east-southeast), and Bingol (northwest). The surrounding region is rugged, with small basins of scarce arable land. It has a large Kurdish population.

The area of Mus has several ruined castles. Under the rule of the medieval Armenian dynasties monasteries and churches were built in localities near Mush such as the Arakelots Monastery, Surp Marineh Church, Mush, Surb Karapet Monastery most of which are now ruins.
Under the rule of the Muslim dynasties, other type of buildings were built as well. There are mosques from the Ottoman and pre-Ottoman period which show influences of Seljuk architecture. Mosques like the Alaeddin Bey (18th century),Haci Seref (17th century) and Ulu Mosque (14th century).Caravanserais like the “Yildizli Han” (13th century) destroyed in 1916, the now almost completely ruined “Arslanli Han”and also bathhouse and fountain of Alaeddin Bey and tombs of Muslim saints.