The fortress wall of the Citadel is located in the northeastern part of the settlement of Old Turkestan. From the northeast, it adjoined the city walls and formed a pentahedron with the following sides: north and northeast — 100 m each, southeast — 150 m, southwest — 200 m, northwest — 160 m. The corners were reinforced with towers, and a moat ran along the outer perimeter. The moat was located at a distance of 4 m from the wall, its width was 7 m, and its depth was 2.5—3 m. The total area enclosed by the walls of the Citadel reached about 3.5 hectares.

The northeastern section of the wall with the gate was restored in 1980, the northwestern and southeastern sections in the early 1990s. The restoration work was carried out on the basis of archaeological excavations, historical descriptions and ancient plans of the city.

The restored sections of the walls belong to the period of the XVIII–XIX centuries. They are built of mud bricks to a height of 8 m with the same width of the base. The upper part of the wall ended with battlements and loopholes. The towers flanking the walls were circular in shape with interior spaces. The floors were made of wooden beams with a clay screed on top. Artillery pieces were located on the upper platform. The towers also served as buttresses: weapons and ammunition were stored inside.

At an early stage (XVII–XVIII centuries), the defensive walls of Turkestan were built of adobe materials. In a later period (the XIX century), large adobe bricks measuring 40×20×10 cm were used. The frame of the walls was reinforced with horizontally laid tree trunks, and waterproofing gaskets were laid at the base. During the clearing of the northeastern section, cone-shaped stone cores with a diameter of 3 to 10 cm were found.

The moats and bridges of the Citadel have not been preserved to this day. In the second half of the 19th century, the fortress walls lost their defensive significance and began to collapse rapidly.

S.Salkhodzhaev, inspector of the museum-reserve «Aziret Sultan»