Upper Courtyard and Cistern

A rainwater cistern survives in the upper castle courtyard. The tank was cut into the rock and collected rainwater to help supply the stronghold’s inhabitants. The courtyard had an irregular, roughly pentagonal outline. Its enclosing walls joined rocks that determined the shape of this part of the castle. The cistern lay within the space they enclosed.

The upper castle was the oldest part of the complex. It brought together a small courtyard, residential buildings and a tower. Later expansion took the stronghold beyond this original group, towards further rock formations. Service buildings stood along the eastern side of the courtyard. Alongside its defensive role, the castle therefore had practical domestic facilities: working rooms and a water supply. The rock-cut tank remains one of the clearest traces of the inhabitants’ everyday needs.