The Tower of Cirith Ungol

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King CED

Previous Image | Next Image | ROTK CED Page Tower of Cirith Ungol

The Tower of Cirith Ungol in Mordor where Frodo is held captive by orcs (Side 1, 07:53).

"In that dreadful light Sam stood aghast, for now, looking to his left, he could
see the Tower of Cirith Ungol in all its strength. The horn that he had seen
from the other side was only its topmost turret. Its eastern face stood up in
three great tiers from a shelf in the mountain-wall far below; its back was to a
great cliff behind, from which it jutted out in pointed bastions, one above the
other, diminishing as they rose, with sheer sides of cunning masonry that looked
north-east and south-east. About the lowest tier, two hundred feet below where
Sam now stood, there was a battlemented wall enclosing a narrow court. Its gate,
upon the near south-eastern side, opened on a broad road, the outer parapet of
which ran upon the brink of a precipice, until it turned southward and went
winding down into the darkness to join the road that came over the Morgul Pass.
Then on it went through a jagged rift in the Morgai out into the valley of
Gorgoroth and away to Barad-dur. The narrow upper way on which Sam stood leapt
swiftly down by stair and steep path to meet the main road under the frowning
walls close to the Tower-gate."

- LOTR Book VI: The Tower of Cirith Ungol

Visit the Morgul Pass page at TheOneRing.net

Previous Image | Next Image | ROTK CED Page | CED Magic Home