Northeastern Anatolia
Barhal's domeless 10th-century Georgian church is remarkably complete and now used as a mosque. The towerless, grey stone form, known as Parkhali to…
Must-see attractions in Northeastern Anatolia
Far Northeast
Long before modern Doğuayazıt developed on the plains below, Bayazıt was an ancient city clinging to a series of high slopes and crags. The İshak Paşa…
Far Northeast
This abandoned ruin of an 11th-century Georgian church is relatively plain but exquisitely sited on a tree-shaded, grassy platform overlooking an emerald…
Erzurum
Erzurum's first Ottoman-era mosque was built in 1562 by Lala Mustafa Paşa, general and grand vizier under Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Its plan is the…
Far Northeast
Despite its name, 'Maiden's Castle', almost all that remains of Kız Kalesi is a red-stone church, probably dating from the late 10th century. It's off…
Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Paşa Kultur Evi
Kars
One of Kars' most attractive old homes hosts a beautifully presented but all-in-Turkish introduction to Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Paşa, a flamboyantly…
Far Northeast
The most substantial remnant of this 11th-century mosque is its minaret, now lying on its side with the spiral stairs inside clearly visible. It was…
Northeastern Anatolia
A dramatic little roadside curiosity as you're driving towards Ispik, this small ruined medieval fort with a Georgian chapel shell are perched on a…
Far Northeast
For a toe-curling frisson as well as a splendid view across Tortum Gölü, venture out onto this glass shelf, which opened in June 2019 and protrudes high…
Far Northeast
Just inside the Ani ruins is the sturdy Arslan Kapısı (or Aslan Kapısı – Lion Gate). Depending on which guide you believe, it was named after Alp Arslan,…
Far Northeast
Well worth a three-minute detour as you drive by on the lakeside road, the smaller of Dogruyol's two side-by-side mosques is a curious hybrid with a…
Kars
Northeast of the centre, just off the road to Ani, the city museum has cultural and archaeological exhibits stretching back to the early Bronze Age,…
Far Northeast
Climbing a rocky cliff just across the Kura River from the city centre, the crenellated grey-stone walls of the 16th-century Ardahan Castle are extensive…
Kars
Facing a pretty little garden surrounded by further century-old buildings, this proud 1883 mansion was where the 1921 Treaty of Kars was signed, settling…
Far Northeast
Dozens of caves cut into in the cliff-like sides of Ani Plateau were made into chapels and hermit cells. The most easily accessible is this partly…
Kars
For a great vantage point to soak up the main sights of historic Kars in a single visual sweep, it's hard to beat the forecourt of this 17th-century…
Kars
This active mosque started life as a 19th-century Russian church, but now sports twin minarets instead of its original onion domes. It's a curious if…
Kars
This attractive basalt bridge that spans the Kars River, below the castle, was built in 1719 replacing a 16th-century original that had been destroyed by…
Northeastern Anatolia
Right beside the new road bridge at the entrance to Yaylalar, an antique pedestrian bridge crosses a side stream with the elegant simplicity of a stone…
Far Northeast
One of the best places from which to admire the impregnable Kız Kalesi site is from this viewpoint near the southern end of the İç Kale citadel ruins.
Far Northeast
Porta (Khandzta) Monastery holds a special place in Georgian history but today it's a severely dilapidated series of ruins in a thickly wooded canyon,…
Far Northeast
The shattered apse is all that remains of what was once a 7th-century Armenian cathedral, rebuilt by Georgians in the 9th century and used for royal…
Far Northeast
A once monumental 10th-century church ruin rises up from the steppe to dominate the village of Oğuzlu, around 20km north of Ani, via Esenyurt. However, a…
Far Northeast
Lines of rock form the vague shape of a boat on a hillside at Üzengili village, 30km southeast of Doğubayazıt. This constitutes one of half-a-dozen…
Kars
In 1579, Sultan Murad III's regional governor (Lala Mustafa Paşa) built an imposing palace on the southern foreslopes of Kars Castle crag. The structure…
Far Northeast
Two modest medieval castles, Kizkalesi and Erkek Kalesi (literally Girl Castle and Boy Castle) are just 500m apart, commanding a fertile valley where two…
Kars
On this 1907 building, thick paint somewhat mars the facade of floral motifs and mock columns built in typical Kars' Baltic (ie northern Russian) style.
Far Northeast
A minor curiosity for those crossing the Iran–Turkey border with their own wheels, this deep hole – marked as a lake on some maps – is a crater made by a…
Far Northeast
The steep, 3km, uphill climb off the Artvin–Ardahan road to Hamamlı village is rewarded with some fine vistas across the reservoir lake far below. In the…
Northeastern Anatolia
The shattered ruins of this medieval castle rise on a modest rocky outcrop surrounded by the waving poplars of Çevreli village, just 800m off the D050,…
Far Northeast
This ruined temple is thought to have been built in the 4th century AD, during a period of Sassanian influence from Persia. It might have been converted…
Kars
A three-storey late 19th-century L-shaped building with a long, false-columned facade, this is one of the more impressive pieces of Kars' 'Baltic…
Kars
Pushkin is known to have bathed at this rectangular 18th-century basalt hamam in 1829, which stands near the river below Kars Castle. These days you'll…
Erzurum
This 1645 stone mosque is distinctive for the triple-stepped appearance of is low-slung central dome.
Far Northeast
Near the Church of St Prkitch are the excavated remnants of this late 11th-century bathhouse.
