Erzurum: the Town of Snow and Mountain Honey

I cannot really say why, but I like cities in Turkey with names that start with the letter 'E'. Such as the likes of Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum etc. That was why I decided to travel onward from Diyarbakir to Erzurum, in spite of the weather warning that temperature in Erzurum could fall to as low as -20 degrees Celsius. 

Even prior to arriving at Erzurum, I could already see how severe and harsh winter in this part of Turkey is. The bus from Diyarbakir to Erzurum via Bingol and Karliova had to stop en route and deploy the snow chains before crossing the mountain pass at Cat because of the heavy snowfall. All along the way, numerous cars and trucks were forced to stop at the roadside due to poor visibility and heavy snowfall. When the bus arrived at Erzurum's main intercity bus station, the temperature outside was already at -14 degrees Celsius, and it was so cold, it just makes you want to escape into the nearest heated room available as soon as you can. Usually I choose to use the free shuttle service provided by the bus company whenever posssible, but in such extreme temperature, I give up on my principles and decided to dish out 10TL and take a taxi to the hotel, instead of utilising the bus company's free shuttle service to the city centre.

Once inside the hotel, I did not bother to get out of it again until next morning, due to the cold weather outside. It is so much more comfortable to be inside a properly heated hotel room than venturing out in the snow and the cold. Located at an altitude of almost 1800m above sea levels, Erzurum is amongst one of the coldest cities in the whole of Turkey, with an average temperature of -15 to -22 degrees Celsius in winter months. And in 2011, snow came early. Although it was barely November, the whole Palandoken Mountain range was already well covered in snow.

The next morning, I had wanted to go up to the ski centre on the mountain slopes overlooking the city of Erzurum, but when I called to enquire about the opening hours of the ski centre, I was told that they were not open yet, as the snow came too early this year, and the ski runs, lifts, and other facilities were not ready yet. Which is a real pity, as I would really like to try out skiing in Turkey's Caucasus mountains.  

With the ski resorts still closed (the ski season in Erzurum usually begins in January and stretches all the way till May), I decided to spend the morning walking around the city centre and visit the medieval Islamic monuments and religious buildings instead. Erzurum is by and large a fairly conservative and religious city, but the religious devotion of its residents is displayed in a vastly different way than other cities in Anatolia known for their social conservatism, such as Konya or Kayseri. The well-maintained city centre is compact enough to walk around, with most sights located with close proximity of one another. The city is also home to a large university and a large number of students, which gives this city a very spirited and youthful ambience. Take a walk around the city's centre and you will see numerous young people hanging around in groups at the cafes and restaurants that line the city's main streets. Although the streets are all covered in snow and ice, the city actually has a very active feel, and the atmosphere this place permeates is certainly not as cold as its outside temperature suggested. 

The chief landmark of the city is its medieval twin minaret medresse, which was undergoing renovation when I visited the city. As Erzurum was also the host city of the 2011 Winter Universiade, the streets of the city centre were full of signs and monuments that serve to commemorate this sporting event. For the locals, the hosting of the Winter Universiade was the prime chance to showcase this snow city to the outside world for the first time in decades, especially as Erzurum is generally not very well-known outside of Turkey as a tourist destination. Foreign tourists are few, most of them consider Erzurum an overnight transit stop on the way to/from Kars or the Black Sea regions, and only a handful of them actually make the effort of coming all the way specifically to visit this snow city.  

Erzurum is a city with a long history and an ancient pedigree that dates all the way back to more than 2000 years ago. During the first millennium, the city's control alternated between Byzantine emperors and the Muslim rulers of the region. Due to its strategic location controlling the major route between the Caucasus and the central Anatolian plateau, Erzurum was the target of various Russian military campaigns during the final days of the Ottoman Empire, and was conquered and controlled by the Russians on several occasions, in 1829, 1878, and in 1916 respectively. 

Like many other cities in eastern Turkey, Erzurum used to have a sizeable and vibrant Armenian community prior to the Armenian Massacre of 1895 and the Armenian Genocide in 1915. During the Armenian Genocide, the city served as a major centre of deportation. By the end of WWI, only a handful of the city's former Armenian inhabitants survived; most of the Armenians living within the province and the city of Erzurum had been deported or perished. Nowadays, virtually no trace of the city's former Armenian heritage remains. 

The Palandoken Mountains, a famous ski resort amongst turkish tourists interested in winter sports, are just a short ride by bus away from Erzurum's city centre. During the skiing season, regular municipal buses connect downtown Erzurum with the mountain skiing resorts. In addition to the several hotels in the vicinity of the skiing resorts, there are also many mid-range hotels in downtown Erzurum, close to shops and most tourist sights. For those seeking cheaper accommodations, head towards the areas around the train station.

As I walked around the city centre, I notice several shops selling natural mountain honey, some even with honeycombs. Later I learnt from the locals that mountain honey harvested from bees that fed on wild flowers and other floras in the high-altitude provinces of Erzurum, Erzincan and Sivas are very highly prized in Turkey, due to their distinctive flavour, and the lack of pollutant as a result of the relative absence of industry and the extreme cold climate in this part of Turkey. In gourment delicatessens in Istanbul, one kilogram of pure Erzincan or Erzurum mountain honey retails for 70 - 140TL, depending on the origins of the honey. For those who are into this natural sweetener, stock up on them in Erzurum as prices are far more reasonable in their place of origin.

Frequent buses connect Erzurum with other cities in Central Anatolia and in Western Turkey. The city is also on a main train route that connects Kars in Turkey's far east with Sivas, Kayseri, Ankara and other cities. Turkish Airlines and Sunexpress also have regular flights to Erzurum's airport from Ankara and Istanbul.

Copyrights@2012. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.