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.

Along the Upper Streams of the Euphrates: From Erzincan to Divrigi on Board the Dogu Express

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. 

Van: So much Water, Yet So Dusty (But the Akdamar Island is Very Pretty!)

One thing I do not understand about towns and cities in Eastern Turkey is, the closer they are to huge body of water, the dustier the air becomes. Van, which is on the edge of Turkey's biggest lake, is a dusty city. The air smells of fine particles of dry dusts. And it is extremely dry out there as well. Which means one needs to drink a lot of water and bring some nasal spray if required.

The modern city of Van is a bustling town full of cars and good-looking men: a predominantly Kurdish city, the fact that the streets of Van are full of good-looking young men seems to lend support to the opinion of some that Kurdish men are in general a better looking lot than their Turkish counterparts.

From Kars to Dogubeyazit: Endless Road Works, One Military Check-Point, and the Visit to Turkey's Neuschwanstein

A visit to Eastern Turkey is incomplete without a trip to the slightly surreal Ishak Pasha Sarayi, Turkey's landmark equivalent to Germany's world-renown Schloss Neuschwanstein. Built in 1685 by a Kurdish feudal lord by the name of Colak Abdi Pasha, the whole complex was completed in 1784 by his grandson, Ishak Pasha, hence the name of the palace.

Day Trip to Ani: Remanent from a Glorious Past

As said, the first and foremost reason foreign visitors would want to travel all the way to Kars is to visit the ruins of the ancient Armenian capital of Ani. Located about 60km outside of Kars, the impressive early medieval ruins of Ani are situated on a steep ridge, overlooking the deep, curvy ravine of the Akhurian River, which also acts as the official border between Armenia and Turkey.  
Since there are no public transport between Kars and Ani, one needs to get a taxi from the town centre in order to visit the ruins. A taxi normally costs 90-100TL, the taxi driver would pick you up from your hotel at the arranged time, drive to Ani, wait for you outside the entrance gate for 3-4 hours while you visit the ruins, before returning to Kars. 

The city of Ani was the capital of the Armenian Kingdom, which once exercised control over a vast  stretch of territory, including much of present-day Armenia and parts of eastern Turkey. During its heyays between the late 10th and early 11th century, Ani  became a key stop of several trade routes due to its size and importance. The city boasted a population of some 100,000 - 200,000 people, and rivaled Constantinople, Baghdad and Cairo in terms of importance and splendour of its architectures. The city was known as the 'City of 1001 Churches', thanks to the numerous (for its time) technologically and artistically advanced churches, religious buildings and places of worship within the city's limits.

Kars: Going up the Kars Castle

Most of the visitors come to Kars because they are on their way to the ancient Armenian capital of Ani. Admittedly there are not many things inside the town of Kars itself which are of interest to the ordinary tourists, but there is always the imposing Kars Castle perching on the top of the hill overlooking the entire plateau, where  on a clear sunny day, one could take really good photos of the town.

The view of the whole centre of Kars from the Kars Castle.

Kars: the Snow City and Turkey's Gateway to the Caucasus

Kars is very much a border town, and it certainly feels like it has been in the wilderness for a long time. Strategically located at the far-eastern end of Turkey's vast territory, Kars is virtual gate of entry into the mountainous terrain of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Its strategic importance means Kars was a place repeatedly fought over by the great powers - most notably the ambitious Russian Empire and its successor state, the Soviet Unions. In the 19th and the 20th centuries, several military campaigns were waged by the Russians against the ailing Ottoman Empire, as a result of which Kars and its surrounding region (including Ardahan) were occupied/annexed by the Russians on several occasions.

After several changes of political ownership between Russia/the Soviet Union on the one hand and the Ottoman Empire/Republic of Turkey on the other, the political status of Kars and the neighbouring provinces of Ardahan and Igdir were finalised in the Treaty of Kars in 1921 between the Soviet Union and Turkey, when both sides agreed that these three provinces would remain part of the Turkish Republic.

From Artvin to Kars: Journey through one of Turkey's Most Beautiful and Rugged Landscape

The city of Artvin is actually quite worth a visit. Located very high up some steep cliff tops, and the surroundings are actually very pretty. For those interested in trekking and mountain sports, it is a nice place to spend a week or so and explore the nearby valleys and hills, or visit quaint riverside villages such as Yusefeli. 

In the morning, I set off from Artvin and travelled to Kars with Yesil Artvin bus company. The bus to Kars does not stop at the bus station of Artvin, but from a roadside stop next to the road to Erzurum and Kars.

The Journey along the Black Sea Coast (Part3): from Giresun to Artvin

From Giresun, there are hourly buses to Trabzon. I had been thinking for a while whether I should stay overnight in Trabzon and visit the Sumela Monastery, and continue my journey towards Kars via Erzurum, or if I by-pass Trabzon, and head straight to the lush green valleys of Rize and the Kackar Mountains. 

I was not particularly in favour of staying overnight at Trabzon, in part because of the lack of reasonably priced hotel accommodations suitable for a lone traveller. After the fall of the Soviet Union, many women from across the border entered Turkey and engage in trade as well as part-time prostitution. Nowadays Trabzon has become infamous as Black Sea's capital of human trafficking and prostitution. To cater for the growing demand for hourly rental, many small hotels now function as unofficial brothels. Numerous unregulated cheap hotels and 'guest houses' also sprung up all over Trabzon's inner city. It has become increasingly difficult for ordinary visitors to find a decent hotel at affordable prices: notable hotels which refuse entry to prostitutes charge more than 70 Euro a night for a room without breakfast. 

After some deliberation, I decided to travel by bus straight to Hopa, right next to Turkey's border with Georgia. The bus from Giresun to Hopa also stop enroute at Trabzon, Rize and several other small towns on the coast. As the bus drove into the centre of Trabzon, I was great I did not choose to stay overnight there, as the whole city centre is a bustling place full of seedy-looking make-shift cheap hotels with tightly closed windowns and very narrow entrance. Some even have pictures of scantily-clad Russian women on the door. It is obvious what these places are up to.

After leaving Trabzon, the view opens up again to gentle sloping hills on one side and blue open sea on the other. The region between Trabzon and Rize is the tea country of Turkey. Tea planations line the hills of the valleys, while almost every town en route has a Caykur tea processing factory. The Turks love their tea, while tea grown in the province of Rize is prized for its deep amber colour and smooth, aromatic taste.

When the bus finally arrived at Hopa, it was already dark and I was disappointed by the sight of the town before me. The whole place was a big construction site, with new highways being built and half-completed ugly concrete blocks springing up all over the place. And the air was dusty and smells of engine oil. Immediately I dropped the idea of staying overnight in Hopa. The whole place looks and feels like a border-town-in-transition, as the population has increased almost ten-fold in the previous few years, following the re-opening of the border cross to Batumi, Georgia's most important harbour and an important shipping centre on the Eastern Black Sea coast. The rapid increase in cross-border trade between Hopa and Batumi is evident in the long line of trucks waiting up at the side of the highway leading to the border checkpoint. Sometimes the wait for customs clearance could take several days, even weeks.
I have nothing against border towns, but Hopa feels seedy. The few hotels available in the town either look outright like unofficial brothels, or they look so hastily built of the cheapest materials possible, without proper fire-resistant materials or safety installations.