Mercimekkale is a mound, not a castle, despite the name — one of 28 recorded in the central district of Muş, on the Muş–Varto road. It was still in use in the Eastern Roman period, when it served for signalling.
The name comes from a story the provincial governorate says is widely told locally. In a terrible drought, nothing grew on the plain of Muş except the lentils sown by the bey of Sekavi, who piled his harvest up like a castle. An old man came to him and asked, for God's sake, for a handful. The bey made up excuse after excuse and finally said: if I have any lentils, let them turn to stone. The old man, who the story says was none other than Hızır, prayed that they would — and they did. The place has been called Mercimekkale, lentil castle, ever since.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Muş as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from -6.8 °C in January to 25.1 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in June and September; rainfall is heaviest in March (109 mm) and lightest in August (6 mm). Long-term means for 1964-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
