It was actually not too easy to get to Divrigi from Erzincan. At first I thought there would be bus connections between these two places, but too bad the only bus connection available to Divrigi is from Sivas. It makes no sense that I had to travel first by bus to Sivas then backtrack to Divrigi, especially when this would take at least one whole day and I had already been to Sivas before and do not intend to stay another night there. So I decided to go by train instead.
Although Divrigi is located on the direct train route between Erzincan and Sivas, there is only a daily communter train from Erzincan at 4pm in the afternoon, arriving at Divrigi shortly after 7pm. As it was winter and it gets dark very early, if I took this afternoon train it would have been virtually impossible to see any scenery on the way. To make things more complicated, there is - as far as I know - only one hotel in Divrigi and as the last bus to Sivas leaves as early as 4.30pm, I would be obliged to stay overnight in the town.
Fortunately, I found out there is also a train 'Dogu Express' from Kars to Istanbul every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and the train stops en route at Erzincan and Divrigi. The best thing about it is, the train departs from Erzincan's train station at 09:55 in the morning, arriving at Divrigi at about 13:15. Which means I can enjoy the stunning sceneries of the upper Euphrates valley and the surrounding mountains in the morning, have ample time to visit the UNESCO-inscripted Ulu Camii of Divrigi in the afternoon, and am still able to catch the last bus to Sivas, have dinner there before getting on the night train from Sivas to Ankara at 23:05. The idea that I can accomplish all of these in just one day makes the option of going by train to Divrigi even more attractive.
The train station of Erzincan, a beautiful building dated from the 19th century, is at the southern side of the city, about 5 minutes by taxi from the city centre and 10 minutes by municipal bus from downtown Erzincan. The views of the mountains around the Erzincan valley in winter are very picturesque. This could be somewhere in the Alps instead of northeast Anatolia or the western Caucasus.
Indeed, the scenery en route is stunning. Snow-capped mountains, rocky cliffs, steep river canyons, winding river valleys, with the occassional prairies and pastoral farmlands in between the sloping hills. During the three-hour journey, the train stopped at several small villages and settlements on the way, sometimes the train station is little more than a simple metal-hut with a short platform, and passengers sitting at the front or the rear end of the train had to clumsily climb up or down the steps of their respective carriages when alighting or boarding.
For me, it is a dream come true. I have always been a fan of rail travel, and I have always wanted to visit the upper streams of the mighty Euphrates at least once in my life time. Now I could sit in the comfort of the train carriage and admire the picturesque landscapes inaccessible by car or other modes of transport outside the windows all at the same time. At that moment I was overwhelmed with a sense of utter joy and content. This is so much better than what I had expected.
Parts of the views outside the window remind me of the dry,arid semi-desert lands in southern parts of the US. Except there are no cactus or horses on sight. As the harsh weather, rugged lanscape and poor soil conditions in Erzincan do not allow for intensive farming, the area is famous for cattle farming instead. Due to its high altitude, the presence of unique flora and the absence of industries, Erzincan and Sivas also produce some of the best alpine honey in Turkey.
The train tracks largely follow the winding streams of the Euphrates, passing through some tunnels, small villages and several bridges. The sky was a bit grey and cloudy because snow had been forecasted for the afternoon, and the temperature outside was -5 °C. In the winter months, temperatures often drop to -15 °C or lower. I am more afraid of getting wet instead of encountering some snow; as long as it does not rain, I am happy.
As many of the small train stations do not even have a proper station, and the train does not make any announcements prior to arriving at the next stop, it is better to keep track of your watch so as not to miss the stop. The good thing about travelling in Turkey as a foreigner is, the train conductors pay special attentions to your destination. As soon as they saw my ticket, they nodded in approval and ask in Turkish if I were going to Divrigi to visit the Great Mosque. 10 minutes before the train arrived at the station in Divrigi, one of the conductors came all the way to my carriage and told me the train would be in Divrigi soon. Given the track records of Turkish state railways - prone to delays - I was very surprised that the train was not only on time, but in fact rolled into Divrigi 5 minutes before schedule.
So there I was, standing at the rail tracks at Divrigi's station. It seems this is a relatively big stop on the route, as the train stopped for at least 10 minutes at the station and lots of passengers with baggages of all shapes and sizes boarded the train here. I was the only foreign visitor on that day. The station guard came over to me and ask in Turkish if I were going to the town centre. There are buses from the road about 100m above the railtracks to Divrigi's town centre, but the guard told me to wait until the train had left, so that his friends could give me a lift direct to the Great Mosque. Indeed some locals in a small white van turned up at the road in front of the train station a few minutes later and drove me and my bags all the way up the hill to the front gate of the Great Mosque. That was really time-saving.
Tips for those interested in visiting Divrigi: one can either take the 9am bus from Sivas, arriving at Divrigi at 12 noon. Spend 2-3 hours in the Mosque, the iman is a friendly young man by the name of Osman. He speaks Turkish only but is very happy to show tourists around the mosque. The last bus back to Sivas departs from the town centre at 16:30 and 17:00 respectively, so make sure you get your return ticket in advance in order to secure your seat on the return bus.
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