Its towers, crowning the height of the mountains are always veiled with clouds, and it is only at noon that the spires of the mosques, and the roofs of the houses are visible. Its circumference is nine thousand and sixty paces. In form it is a pentagon, extremely strong, worthy of being a work of Ferhád, with forty-one towers, and eight hundred battlements altogether. The number of the houses is not known to me. There are magazines, cisterns, and a road cut in the rock, leading down to the water, called Chapán Yolí, of three thousand and seven steps. It has no market-place (Charshú), or market (Bazár). There are four iron gates looking to the east. In the castle is a mosque built by Sultán Ilderím, and a marvelously deep dungeon, resembling the pit of hell; and seventy cannons, but of no great calibre, as it is not a frontier fortress. This castle has six wonderful caverns, where the rich inhabitants hid their valuable effects in the time of the Anatolian rebellions of Kara Yazijí, and Kara Sáid.
Timúr besieged this fortress with an innumerable army for the space of seven months, and was obliged to retire in confusion. Though it is situated in the midst of the province, yet a commander (Dizdár) and a garrison is appointed, lest rebels should gain possession of it. The lower castle is built on the banks of the river Túzánlí, a small castle, whose circumference is not known to me. It has three gates, the first opens towards the Kiblah, Karánlik Kapú; the second Ma’adenos Kapú, looks in the same direction; and the third, Meidán Kapú, to the west; from whence a great bridge leads to Gok-medresse, on the opposite side of the town. The gate Serkíz leads over a wooden bridge to the mosque of Gháríblar. The number of mosques, palaces, and houses are six hundred. The river Túzánlí, which passes through the town, issues from the mountains of the same name above Tokát, passes by Eskí, Aine-bazár, Kargol, the castle of Túrhál, Chengellí-bíl, Sárikúsún, the bridge of Davíkaví, Chapán, through the pass of Ferhád to Amasia, where it joins the river Chekerek, opposite the great stone bridge. This river springs from the lake of Ladek, comes from Súliova, and joins the Tuzánlí near Amasia as aforesaid. It is vulgarly called Yava; the proverb, “Tokát defiles it, Amasia drinks it,” is applied to it because it flows from Tokát to Amasia. After it has passed Amasia it is called Chehár Shenbesú (Wednesday’s water), and after irrigating many fields, it disembogues in the Black Sea, on the western side of Samsún. Below the village Chehár Shenbeh it is joined by several springs, and below Nígissár, in the province of Sivás, it receives the river Kerkúk; thus it reaches Samsún, after having increased its stream by those of seven other rivers. The town of Amasia is built on both sides of this river, and on the hills and mountains bordering on it. A bridge worth seeing, the work of Sultán Bayazíd, crosses it. This river comes to Amasia from the south, running northward, and turning many mills and water-wheels; which at Amasia are not less to be praised than those of Hama and Adana. Amasia is divided into forty-eight quarters of Moslíms, and five of Christians; there are altogether five thousand houses, besides palaces.