Sumuq Qala

Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan

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Sumuq Qala (also written Sumuq qala or Sumug‑gala) is a historic defensive tower in the Bucag neighborhood of İlisu village in Gakh (Qax) region of Azerbaijan, built in the 17th–18th centuries as a mountain‑type fortified tower attached to a residential house so that an entire family could defend itself from attackers.

The tower is square in plan, measures about 6.22 × 6.02 metres, and is roughly 10 metres high, with walls made of river stone, lime mortar, and baked brick, thickening at the base (70–80 cm) and thinning towards the top (60–70 cm), and fitted with small windows and loopholes on its upper levels for observation and defence. 

Its name is said to derive either from a local ruler called “Sumu Khan” or from the Azerbaijani word for “bone” (sumuq/sümük), reflecting the tower’s perceived strength, while historical sources mention rather the Usmi title borne by the Ilisu sultan Muhammad‑Khan, who ruled the area for a time.