Must see attractions in Far Northeast

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The ruins of Ani, 45km east of Kars, are an absolute must-see. Visitors enter through gigantic fortress walls that look like they fell off a crusader…

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There are few experiences as magical as watching a blazing sunset from behind this ridgetop stone structure, its dome and minaret silhouetted against a…

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Appealingly sited overlooking a stretch of river gorge, this 13th-century church appears relatively intact, though the current main door is within what…

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Dating from at least 1153, Kars Castle' s hefty, dark-stone walls crown the craggy ridge that dominates the city-centre's northern edge, fronted by a…

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Possibly of Urartian origin, this 'Devil's Castle' was for centuries a Georgian stronghold known as Qajis Tsikhe. It remains one of northeast Turkey's…

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Completed in 1010, the grassy-roofed cathedral is the largest building among the Ani ruins. The building's elegantly finished stone walls are relatively…

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Ani's 1072 Manuçehr Camii was built by the Seljuk Turks, using Armenian architects and artisans, creating a stylistic blend in what is considered to have…

Despite a 30m tower-spire, this laboriously restored ancient church is somewhat hidden amongst trees in Upper İşhan (İşhan Köyü), a green oasis village on…

The cliffs and valleys all around the Ani plateau are riddled with hundreds of caves that guides have collectively dubbed Ani's 'Underground City'. Mostly…

This ruined fortress-citadel is a very dramatic sight, sat impregnably on top of a crag formed by soaring sheer rockfaces that rise from a hilltop on the…

The impressively huge frontage of this shattered 10th-century Georgian church stands at the back of a peaceful highland village accessed by a 10km series…

This new museum specialising in early 20th-century history is hosted in the heavy arches of an 1803 bastion, a surviving fragment of vast ramparts that…

Covering the large rocky eminence at the southern point of the Ani plateau, İç Kale is a jumble of tumbled stone, with faint vestiges of ancient palaces…

Sturdy stone ruins of this 9th-century citadel straddle a ridge between two canyons forming a de facto city gate at the western entrance of Tunçkaya, now…

Walking from the west, Ani's distinctive Church of the Redeemer (1034–36) looks strikingly complete despite the supporting scaffolding. From other angles,…

Built into the western tip of Ani's defensive walls, this rectilinear palace has been so painstakingly over-restored that it looks quite out of place,…

The Church of the Holy Apostles (Arak Elots Kilisesi) dates from 1031, but after the Seljuks took the city in 1064 they added a gateway with a fine dome…

A well-preserved central landmark in the heart of the Ani plateau, this rotunda-shaped church with a conical roof was built in about 980 for the wealthy…

With an especially attractive north facade, the 16th-century 'Mosque of Saints' was built to commemmorate the 11th-century saint Hasan-i Harakani who…

Miles from anywhere, the 10th-century Kızıl Kilise is one of eastern Turkey's most complete Armenian village churches. Now used as a barn, the building…