Vali Castle

Ilam, Iran, Iran

---

Vali Castle, located on Choqa Mirag hill in Ilam city, Iran, is a Qajar-era fortress built about 100 years ago.

Covering an area of 2,500 square meters, it features brick, gypsum, and marble construction materials. The castle includes a large central courtyard of 700 square meters surrounded on three sides by mansions, with a distinctive trapezoidal southern side.

The northern side houses a spacious Shah Neshin room characterized by a high roof and a half-dome ceiling, designed to stay cooler than other rooms. A marble-decorated pond supplied by water from Bibi Fountain sits in the middle of this room.

The castle has three entrances—mainly a grand southern Greek-style gate—and two semicircular watchtowers. Used as a summer residence, today it serves as Ilam's Anthropology Museum and is registered as a valuable historical monument of the region.