Sights in The Black Sea & Northeastern Anatolia
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İshak Paşa Palace
Located 6km uphill southeast of town, this is the epitome of the Thousand and One Nights castle. Part of its magic derives from its setting – it's perched on a small plateau abutting stark cliffs and overlooking a plain, framed by Mt Ararat.
The palace was begun in 1685 by Çolak Abdi Paşa and completed in 1784 by his son, a Kurdish chieftain named İshak (Isaac). The architecture is a superb amalgam of Seljuk, Ottoman, Georgian, Persian and Armenian styles.
The palace's elaborate main entrance leads into the first courtyard, which would have been opened to merchants and guests.
Only family and special guests would have been allowed into the second courtyard. Here you can…
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Van Castle
Nothing is quite so impressive in Van as the Van Castle, which dominates the view of the city. About 3km west of the city centre, it's a wonderful place to come for a picnic.
Just past the spot where the minibus drops you, on the northern side of the rock, is a modern mosque and the tomb of Abdurrahman Gazi, a Muslim holy man. It's frequently visited by pilgrims including infertile women who are thought to be helped by coming here. Further on, at the northwestern corner, you'll reach the ticket office, then the car park, where there are toilets and a tea garden.
A stairway from the car park leads up the rock. Once you've reached the summit, the old city reveals itself like…
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Aya Sofya Museum
One of Trabzon's star attractions, the Aya Sofya Museum, originally Hagia Sophia (Church of the Divine Wisdom), is 4km west of the centre on a terrace that once held a pagan temple. Built in the late Byzantine period, between 1238 and 1263, the church was clearly influenced by Georgian and Seljuk design, although the marvellous wall paintings and mosaic floors follow the prevailing Constantinople style.
It was converted to a mosque after the conquest in 1461, and later used as an ammunition storage depot and hospital by the Russians, before being fully restored in the 1960s.
Enter through the western entrance into the vaulted narthex to view the best-preserved, vividly col…
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Gölbaşı
Legend had it that Abraham (İbrahim), who is a great Islamic prophet, was in old Urfa destroying pagan gods one day when Nimrod, the local Assyrian king, took offence at this rash behaviour. Nimrod had Abraham immolated on a funeral pyre, but God turned the fire into water and the burning coals into fish. Abraham himself was hurled into the air from the hill where the fortress stands, but landed safely in a bed of roses.
The picturesque Gölbaşı area of Urfa is a symbolic re-creation of this story. Two rectangular pools of water (Balıklı Göl and Ayn-i Zeliha) are filled with supposedly sacred carp, while the area west of the Hasan Padişah Camii is a gorgeous rose gar…
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Dergah
Southeast of Gölbaşı is the Dergah complex of mosques and parks surrounding the colonnaded courtyard of the Hazreti İbrahim Halilullah, built and rebuilt over the centuries as a place of pilgrimage. Its western side is marked by the Mevlid-i Halil Camii, a large Ottoman-style mosque. At its southern side is the entrance to the cave where Abraham was reputedly born. He lived here in hiding for his first seven years – King Nimrod, responding to a prophecy he'd received in a dream, feared that a newborn would eventually steal his crown, so he had all babies killed. This is still a place of pilgrimage and prayer, with separate entrances for men and women.
To visit these …
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Prophet Job's Site
Although it's not the highlight of a trip, Prophet Job's Site is worth the bus ride for its historic significance. It's about 1km southeast of the Gölbaşı district. Legend holds that Eyyüp (Job) was a prosperous and devout man, thus despised by İblis (Satan). İblis took away Job's health, wealth and family, to force him into a crisis of faith. Instead, Job retreated to the cave (Eyyüp Peygamber Makamı) you see here, where he waited patiently in devotion to God.
After seven years, God restored his possessions and health, the latter by means of a freshwater spring that Job unleashed by thumping the ground with his heel. Pilgrims come here to wish for the patience of…
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Atatürk Villa
Escape busy Trabzon at the Atatürk Villa, 5km southwest of Atatürk Alanı. Set above Trabzon in a forested neighbourhood, it has fine views and lovely gardens. The three-storey white villa, designed in a Black Sea–style popular in the Crimea, was built between 1890 and 1903 for a wealthy Trabzon banking family, and given to Atatürk when he visited in 1924. It's now a museum of Atatürk memorabilia. Don't miss the simple table in the study with a map of the WWI Dardanelles campaign scratched into the wood.
City buses labelled 'Köşk', leave from the bus park opposite the old coast road (Devlet Sahil Yolu Caddesi) and drop you outside the villa (TL1.50). Don't get out at…
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Kars Castle
North of the river in the older part of the city, this is worth the knee-jarring climb, if only for the smashing views over the town and the steppe in fine weather. Records show that Saltuk Turks built a fortress here in 1153. It was torn down by the Mongol conqueror Tamerlane in 1386 and rebuilt several times in the following centuries. The castle was the scene of bitter fighting during and after WWI. When the Russian armies withdrew in 1920, control of Kars was left in the hands of the Armenian forces, until the republican armies took the kalesi.
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Kale
With astounding views, the fortress on Damlacık hill, from which Abraham was supposedly tossed, is an absolute must-see. Multiple conflicting histories claim it was either (a) built in Hellenistic times, (b) built by the Byzantines, (c) built during the Crusades or (d) built by the Turks. In any case, it's vast, looks magnificent when floodlit, and can be reached via a flight of stairs or a tunnel cut through the rock. On the top, the most interesting things are the pair of columns that local legend has dubbed the Throne of Nemrut after the supposed founder of Urfa, the biblical King Nimrod.
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Van Museum
The small Van Museum boasts an outstanding collection of Urartian exhibits. The Urartian gold jewellery is the highlight, but the bronze belts, helmets, horse armour and terracotta figures are also well worth seeing.
The ethnographic exhibits upstairs include local Kurdish and Turkoman kilims and a carpeted sitting area, such as is found in village houses. The Genocide Section is a piece of one-sided propaganda displaying the contents of graves left from the massacres of Turks and Kurds by Armenians at Çavuşoğlu and Zeve.
The museum has a good bookshop with plenty of foreign-language titles about the region.
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Trabzon Museum
Just south of Uzun Sokak, this Italian-designed mansion was originally built for a Russian merchant in 1912 and inhabited briefly by Atatürk. The fantastic interiors and original furnishings put most Ottoman re-creations to shame, with a series of impressive high-ceilinged rooms displaying ethnographic and Islamic artefacts, mostly labelled in English. The basement archaeological section also has significant pieces, including a flattened bronze statue of Hermes from local excavations at Tabakhane and Byzantine finds from near Sumela.
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İç Kale
Diyarbakýr's single most conspicuous feature is its great circuit of basalt walls, probably dating from Roman times, although the present walls date from early Byzantine times (AD 330-500). At almost 6km in length these walls are said to be second in extent only to the Great Wall of China. They make a striking sight whether you're walking along the top or the bottom.
You can ascend the walls of the İç Kale to enjoy the fine views of the Tigris, flanked by a patchwork of market gardens, as it meanders 2km to 3km south to flow under the 11th-century On Gözlu Köprüsü (Ten-Eyed Bridge).
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Güzel Sanatlar Galerisi
Delve into Urfa's back streets and you'll find examples of the city's distinctive limestone houses with protruding bays supported on stone corbels. Although many of these houses are falling into decay (and some are far too large for modern families), a few have been restored, most notably the house of Hacı Hafızlar, near the PTT, which has been turned into an art gallery, the Güzel Sanatlar Galerisi.
The art is usually pretty awful but the courtyards and fine carved stonework are a joy to behold and they don't mind you wandering through.
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Çifte Minareli Medrese
Lying east of the centre, the single most definitive image of Erzurum dates from the 1200s when Erzurum was a wealthy Seljuk city, before it suffered attack and devastation by the Mongols in 1242. The facade is an example of the way the Seljuks liked to try out variation even while aiming for symmetry: the panels on either side of the entrance are identical in size and position but different in motif. The panel to the right bears the Seljuk eagle; to the left the motif is unfinished.
The twin brick minarets are decorated with eye-catching small blue tiles. Don't look for the tops of the minarets – they are gone, having succumbed to the vagaries of Erzurum's violent history…
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Şanlıurfa Museum
Up the hill off Atatürk Caddesi, the Şanlıurfa Museum showcases eastern Turkey's archaeological evolution.
The gardens contain various sculptures, and near the entrance are several mosaics, the most interesting showing assorted wild animals. Inside are Neolithic implements, Assyrian, Babylonian and Hittite relief stones, and other objects from Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman times.
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Meryem Ana Kilisesi
The wonderful Meryem Ana Kilisesi is still used by Orthodox Syrian Christians; they are Jacobites, or Monophysites, who refused to accept the doctrine laid down at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. This said that Jesus had two natures, being simultaneously fully divine and fully human - the Monophysites insisted he had only one divine nature. The church is beautifully maintained, although only about seven families still attend services.
You will have to hammer on the door as the custodian lives two courtyards away and may not hear you.
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Yedi Kardeş Burcu
Fortunately, the most easily accessible stretch of walls is also the most interesting in terms of inscriptions and decoration. Start near the Mardin Kapısı close to the Deliller Han, a stone caravanserai now home to the Otel Büyük Kervansaray. Be sure not to miss Nur Burcu (Tower Nur), the Yedi Kardeş Burcu , with two Seljuk lion bas-reliefs, which you can only see from outside the walls, and the Malikşah Burcu (Tower of Malik Şah, also called Ulu Badan), which has some bas-reliefs too.
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Nur Burcu
Fortunately, the most easily accessible stretch of walls is also the most interesting in terms of inscriptions and decoration. Start near the Mardin Kapısı close to the Deliller Han, a stone caravanserai now home to the Otel Büyük Kervansaray. Be sure not to miss Nur Burcu, the Yedi Kardeş Burcu (Tower of Seven Brothers), with two Seljuk lion bas-reliefs, which you can only see from outside the walls, and the Malikşah Burcu (Tower of Malik Şah, also called Ulu Badan).
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Malikşah Burcu
Fortunately, the most easily accessible stretch of walls is also the most interesting in terms of inscriptions and decoration. Start near the Mardin Kapısı close to the Deliller Han, a stone caravanserai now home to the Otel Büyük Kervansaray. Be sure not to miss Nur Burcu (Tower Nur), the Yedi Kardeş Burcu (Tower of Seven Brothers), with two Seljuk lion bas-reliefs, which you can only see from outside the walls, and the Malikşah Burcu, which has some bas-reliefs too.
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Keldani Kilisesi
The Keldani Kilisesi, off Yenikapı Caddesi, is a plain, brightly lit church, still used by 30 Christian families of the Syrian rite (in communion with the Roman Catholic church). The chaplain from the Meryem Ana Kilisesi holds a service here on the second Sunday of the month. It's fairly easy to find on your own. Walk past the detached minaret of the Nebi Camii, take the first left (Dicle Sokak) then the first right (Şeftali Sokak). The caretaker usually sits outside the Nebi Camii.
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Boztepe Picnic Place
On the hillside 2km southeast of Atatürk Alanı, is the Boztepe Picnic Place (Boztepe Piknik Alanı), with fine views of the city and the sea, tea gardens and restaurants. In ancient times, Boztepe harboured temples to the Persian sun god Mithra. Later, the Byzantines built churches and monasteries here. Now it's a top place for a sunset beer.
From Atatürk Alanı, take a frequent Boztepe dolmuş (TL1.50) from near the southeastern end of Atatürk Alanı. The route goes uphill 2.2km to Boztepe park.
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Ulu Cami
Unlike the elaborately decorated Çifte Minareli, the Ulu Cami, built in 1179 by the Saltuk Turkish emir of Erzurum, is restrained but elegant, with seven aisles running north to south and six running east to west, resulting in a forest of columns. You enter from the north along the central aisle. Above the third east–west aisle, a striking stalactite dome opens to the heavens. At the southern end of the central aisle are a curious wooden dome and a pair of bull's-eye windows.
A short hop from the Ulu Cami, you'll notice the small Ottoman Caferiye Camii.
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Yakutiye Medrese
Rising over a square slap bang in the centre, the imposing Yakutiye Medrese is a Mongol theological seminary dating from 1310. The Mongol governors borrowed the basics of Seljuk architecture and developed their own variations, as is evident in the entrance to the medrese. Of the two original minarets, only the base of one and the lower part of the other have survived; the one sporting superb mosaic tile work wouldn't be out of place in Central Asia. The medrese now serves as Erzurum'sTurkish-Islamic Arts & Ethnography Museum. Inside, the striking central dome is lined with faceted stalactite work that catches light from the central opening to make a delightful pattern.
The…
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Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Museum
The best way to see inside one of these old houses is to visit one of the museums inside the city walls. For example, the poet Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı (1910-56) was born in a two-storey black basalt house built in 1820, in a side street about 50m north of the Ulu Cami. It now houses the Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Museum which contains some of the poet's personal effects and furnishings.
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Church of the Apostles
On the way to Kars Castle, assorted crumbling reminders of Kars' ancient past huddle along the riverbanks, including the Church of the Apostles. Built between 932 and 937 for the Bagratid King Abas, it was repaired extensively and turned into a mosque in 1579 when the Ottomans rebuilt much of the city; the Russians added the porches in the 19th century. The 12 relief carvings on the drum are of the apostles.
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