Driving through Eastern Turkey was one of our better Travel Decisions, although I didn’t always think so. A stomach complaint in Dogubayazit left me momentarily wishing we had not stepped off the well worn tourist trail of the West coast. I had manipulated things to fit this Eastern Turkey Road Trip in to our six week Turkish visit and an upset stomach didn’t put me off for long. I was living the dream.
Compared to Marty, my eating habits err on the side of adventurous. That is not strictly true actually, because he will eat things that I would not even try, but he is a little picky about where he eats them. We asked our hotel Manager the name of a good place to eat (Tad Restaurant) and then after enjoying several lovely meals there, I couldn’t resist the lure of a huge meat on a stick affair I had seen elsewhere. What can I say. Marty had one mouthful of meat after which no more passed his lips and although I thought it tasted strange I didn’t think it was off. And so it was that I became enamoured of the toilet at our hotel and then later on the little white pills that enabled us to keep to our driving schedule. We didn’t have the luxury of time as the car was due back at Trabzon Airport mere hours before our flight back to Istanbul in three days time.
I still have my doubts as to whether it was the meat that made me ill, mainly because there were three other travellers at our hotel who were sick. Two were in recovery stage when we arrived and I never found out who the third was, but we all heard him being horribly sick during the night.
As we were leaving Dogubayazit Marty suggested a visit to the supposed site of Noah’s Ark but I was too focused on my stomach to rise to the occasion. I am pretty sure it has been scientifically dis-proven as the actual Ark, but you can read about it’s location here.
Goodbye to Dogubayazit.
The 5,137 m high dormant snow covered cone of Mt. Ararat dominated the landscape as we left Dogubayazit. Agri Dagi (Ararat’s Turkish name) – 16km west of Iran and 32 km south of Armenia – was on the my side of the car and we stopped often to take photos. Power lines and debris provided a poor photo frame for such a mountain, but in a way they made Agri Dagi even more impressive.
Here is a different view sans power lines and rubbish.
I can only imagine how bitterly cold the Winters would be and how exciting the Springs, living at the base of Mt. Ararat.
The plains of Ararat provide heavenly pastures for the livestock that are so important in Eastern Turkey.
Another colour crept into the landscape and my files became littered with pretty pinks.
Although cows, sheep and goats had shared the roads with us in many places on this trip, the size of the herds and flocks ballooned between Dogubayazit and Kars. The burly dogs seemed to be for protection purposes only and did not play a part in handling the sheep. They were totally disinterested in proceedings whenever we saw them.
Stay with me, I am not finished with those fabulous pinks yet.
We were looking across to Tuzluca where salt is extracted from caves. Slabs of rock salt were stacked for resale on the kerb side in Horosan and Kars but Tazluca was the source of the salt. There were no tours of the mines as such, but if you are up for the challenge you could just go on in like Julia and Barry from Turkeys for Life.
Not long after Tuzluca the road curved East and there popping it’s head up again was Mt. Ararat.
Approximately 25km both sides of Tuzluca the road abuts the Armenian border. Turkish Soldiers on patrol and atop look out posts were a common sight on the drive. One minute after we left the sheep on the road above we came across a devastating single vehicle truck accident, where soldiers were first on the scene helping out.
Finally there was nothing left between us and Kars apart from some obligatory roadside cattle.
Our route took us through Igdir, which seemed like a pleasant town but we did not stop and I took no photographs. I know. Hard to believe.
You could say I made up for that by taking twice as many of Kars. Here are some not previously published shots.
Kars has a busy end and a quiet end of town. Any street that ends with a view of the castle is a busy street. I like this photo of Marty’s because it captures the vibrancy of the people and town.
The sleepy end of town houses stately buildings that hark from the Russian occupation. They are painted in pastel tones with a shabby air about them. A beautiful and peaceful walk.
The Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Pasha Mansion, an example of late Ottoman architecture is at a crossroads. This building was used in 1877-78 as a headquarters in the Ottoman Russian War and was restored in 2001.
The pace starts picking up around here with the Antik Cafe on the opposite corner.
And finally an example of a more recent style of building in Kars.
This post is linked to Nancie’s Travel Photo Thursday over at Budget Travelers Sandbox
Read About our Eastern Turkey Self Drive Itinerary here.
If you have ever dreamed about packing up, leaving your own country and shifting your family to the other side of the world, you should check out Chasing the Donkey.
Tuesday in Townsville Ocean Views and Sunsets
I am in awe of your travels in eastern Turkey. Your Mount Ararat shot is truly awesome – and makes me want to go.
I would not call myself an adventuresome eater. I do like to know what I’m eating.
I was very happy with our Eastern Turkey Trip. Marty and I have even discussed returning and doing another trip to places not visited last time. I am a spontaneous eater but would (probably) not eat something strange like insects.
Beautiful place…
Sorry to hear about your upset stomach (what are the chances those other people ate at the same place), Jan but glad to see you soldiered on to bring us these stunning photo and writeup. I love the variety in the landscape (that’s the Turkey I’d love to see) and the buildings. We cannot escape those boxy apartment buildings, can we?
Thanks Marcia. I love that blogging about it keeps this road trip alive in my mind. It is as if we are still there – I don’t want it to finish!
What a wonderful tour, the eastern part of Turkey is so different than the touristy west coast, loved the visit and that mountain – spectacular!
Thanks Noel. I love the way Mt. Ararat sits both majestically and desolately and the fact that you can see it from so far away.
Hi Jan, I enjoy your roadtrip in Eastern Turkey. I’m jealous of your off-off-the-beaten- path adventures (but minus the stomach incidents:) I love the vast landscapes that you have shown us. They look so remote and so dramatic. Mt. Ararat is more immense than I thought. The pink rock mountains are so spectacular. Can’t blame you for taking tons of photos. The herds and flocks traffic is so delightful. What a road trip!
Thanks Marisol, The vastness is what stays in my mind when I think about our Eastern Turkey road trip. Loved it.
Your photos make me miss Turkey so much. I loved Kars, Ani, and Ararat! Beautiful!
I understand Corinne, I miss it too. I am so happy to be blogging about it because it keeps it close. 🙂
amazing pictures and nice post
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What a great road trip! Sorry to hear about your upset stomach. I like the variety of sights you saw. Wow, Mt Ararat is massive! Most of all, I love seeing all the wildlife traffic. What a treat to see.
I just loved the animals as well Lisa. I have heaps of photos 🙂
Oh no, being sick during travels is the absolute WORST! Especially when there is really nothing you can do but wait it out…happy that you were still able to enjoy so much of Eastern Turkey, your photos are stunning!
I am lucky Jess in that I don’t normally get sick. Nothing would have stopped me loving Eastern Turkey for long 🙂
You have really amazed me with all that you saw during your Turkey road trip. As I was driving around today, I was thinking about how it’s difficult to drive in a foreign country where you can’t read the signs or understand the de facto road rules. That you drove around Turkey just for fun instead of joining a packaged tour or hiring a guide and driver speaks of your adventurousness. (Even if said adventurousness may or may not have resulted in your getting overly acquainted with the Turkish loo.) Mt. Ararat looks so imposing. You should have Photoshopped in a wooden boat balancing on top, ha ha. I only have to deal with a few cows in Penang — usually when I’m running late for school pickup — so that size of that herd in the road is mind boggling to me. The city pictures are so interesting compared to what you saw at the beginning of the day.
I never thought of photo shopping Noah’s Ark in. You will have to do it when you go 🙂
Love all your Turkey posts. I agree with Leigh, Mt Ararat is spectacular. i’m a pretty adventursome eater, but if something tastes odd I have learned (the hard way) to give it a pass. 🙂
Thanks for linking up to Travel Photo Thursday. Sorry, I am slow to get around. My blog host is not being nice to me this week…sigh
Ah… Technology can be a bugger. I have noticed the Thursday post becoming live later than usual. Wouldn’t miss the Travel Photo linkup 🙂
Great pictures! I havent been to Turkey yet but now I am wondering of I should skip the cities in favour of the views in rural Turkey.
Hi Bianca, I think Istanbul is a must and you will probably arrive there anyways. I would not like to miss anything. Cities and Rural are both intriguing. It depends on your preferences. I am so glad we visited Eastern Turkey.
How cool! Eastern Turkey doesn’t get too much written about it and it was fascinating to see what your journey was like through your photos and commentary. The photos of Kars reminds me a little of some of the central European and Balkan towns I’ve been to and with a surprising amount of people on the streets too!
Hi Adelina,
There is a strong Russian Influence in the town. Remember to check out the rest of our Eastern Turkey Road Trip.
Absolutely gorgeous scenery and photos! I’m pretty jealous of this! Thanks for linking up to the #SundayTraveler 🙂
Thanks for commenting Ashley. I have been enjoying linking up with #SundayTraveler. And by the way I know all about travel jealousy 🙂
What a great post. Sounds like so much fun. I never thought I would venture away from a tourist path in Turkey, but this post makes me want to change my mind 🙂
Hi Angela, The East isn’t big on glamour but it offers the feeling of an adventure and the sites are from what I can gather are rarely busy (if at all).