Escape to Erzurum, take two. Out of the Kackars and into

After a memorable few days spent in the wild north east of Turkey it is sadly time to say goodbye.  I have the pleasure of one last evening in Kars, then it's off central Anatolia and Cappadocia on a mammoth 20hr train journey tomorrow morning, but first, I shall regale more tales from my journey since Yusafeli. 

The morning of Boxing Day I awoke early and made my way down to the river one last time, the morning frost as savage and beautiful as the day before. Although I had been here only 24hrs previously, the view was no less impressive and with the morning sun rising behind me, the pictures back down the valley were perfect. I walked back into town taking one last look at the impressive kackar mountains and hopped on the morning bus out of town.  

The bus out of Yusafeli was the same route I had taken on christmas so for the first hour I took the opportunity of getting another hours sleep in and awoke as we pulled into the petrol station where I made my u-turn the previous day. 

And so comes another anecdote of something lost, but thankfully found :) I was especially anxious to get there as I had, not so surprisingly left my hat there the day before :D I had been too busy trying to explain I wanted to go back that my hat of sentimental value was left on the bench. (it was given to me by my brother on my birthday about 10yrs ago) using my best sign language I tried to explain to the bemused lady in the shop if she had seen my hat anywhere. Initially she thought I wanted to buy one off the shelf. 

Somehow I got my message across and she ran outside.  I followed her out and she reached deep into the rubbish bin and pulled out what was by now a slightly dirty, but most definitely my hat. :) thanking her I smiled and thought You just never know what you ll find in the rubbish bins in Turkey! 

After a "Turkish" ten min break which stretched to a good 20 odd we were on our way. The views continued to excite, the scenery continuing much the same as I described on Christmas Day. The road climbed higher still as we neared Erzurum, until we were surrounded by a sea of white, snow covering the mountains and steppe all around. Erzurum is a city at roughly 2000m high. As we entered the new built otogar bus station I thought about stopping off here and spending a day flying down the Turkish ski slopes of palandoken. I reasoned, however, I could ski anywhere, I had come to see as much of turkey as I could and with that in mind I found myself an hour after arriving bus bound for Kars! 

My brief stop at the Otogar was not without incident. After buying my bus ticket to Kars, I sat down starving to enjoy some kind of cheese and what looked like pepperoni sandwich. It was the only sandwich on offer in the small kiosk. As I was in a predominantly Muslim country, I figured it must be some other kind of non descript processed sausage, due to having not eaten that day it mattered not and I started to tuck in. 

At this very moment from behind me  a male voice could be heard throughout the station. The station is quite a cavernous affair, any noise magnifies and echoes around the empty space. I turned to see a man smartly dressed in a Brown leather jacket and jeans pointing both hands up to the sky and shouting at the top of his voice. For a brief second I thought it was some kind of impromtu call to prayer, the only two words which I could pick out were "Allah Akbar!" I quickly realised this was not the case as I scanned the puzzled and bemused looks on the people around me. His speech got more and more pressured and his expression intensified as he worked himself up to some kind of crescendo in his speech to all around. 

Quickly 4 or 5 policemen surrounded him and asked him to leave the building. He stopped suddenly and although I could not understand, his expression and tone seemed to be saying;

"Alright, no worries I was going anyway, don t worry I m leaving" with whatever assurance he gave they left him alone and he exited, only to return immediately through a different door! breaking into frenzied speech again, arms raised high. The conversation with the police was repeated and he exited, only to return for a third time through another door! :D the decibel level of the rant increasing as he raised his arms and looked heavenward. I guess maybe he thought third time lucky, this however was not the case and he was bundled into a nearby police car. 

My bus was due to leave at 1pm from stand 5. By 1:10 it had not arrived and I worriedly went inside and enquired at the desk. The man in a mixture of hand signals and a little English told me to wait there, don t worry. I was, However, suspicious as I was the only one at the stand! A few minutes later a man in a brown leather jacket (I figured it was not our street preacher friend) came

Up to me and said;

"You, Kars?" 

I replied in the affirmative and with that he walked me out of the station and ushered me into the front seat of a small Peugeot already full of Turkish people and their luggage. Just for good measure another chap jumped into the boot amongst the luggage, and with that we headed off. I showed my ticket and questioned;

"Kars?" 

"Yes yes, Kars, no problem my friend!" He replied.

We pulled into a petrol station down the road and there in the parking lot was a dilapidated transit van with 'Serhat Kars' embellished down the side. 

I was ushered again out of the car and into the minibus, which had all manner of bags, boxes and sacks of vegetables dotted about wherever they could find room. I sat down, thankful to be finally on my way :) 

On looking over at the reading material of the girl next to me I noticed she was reading an English book so decided to strike up a conversation. It turned out she was reading Literature amd poetry at Erzurum university, studying for her MA. For the first time since Istanbul I was able to have a conversation, it felt good to converse again!

She chuckled at my initial question,

I asked why to which she replied;

"When you sat down, until I saw your Turkish guide book in English I thought you were Turkish!"

Her English was pretty good and we chatted whimsically about all manner of things as the bus slowly made its way down the road. It was good to have a laugh and a joke without the aid of handgestures  and misunderstandings :) Her  name was Berra, and the  main question was "why are you travelling to Kars now, it's so cold! This time of year we stay inside!" I assured her the cold would not be a problem and seeing the east in the snow, for a Brit, would be quite something. 

Turkish hospitality reared its friendly head again, as we stopped for a toilet/food break. I paid the standard 1lira for the privilege of using the WC and hopped back on the bus. Berra then produced a bag of goodies she had just bought from the shop! I didn t have the heart to tell her I had just eaten not so long ago, I initially declined the fruit juice she offered, but she looked so crestfallen I quickly changed my mind and accepted, she then took out of the bag and placed on my lap what seemed an endless supply of cake, chocolate and cheese biscuits! Going by previous experience I accepted graciously and told her of my growing list of anecdotes regarding Turkish kindness. She explained that in Turkish culture you always share, especially when you have a guest, you have to make them feel welcome.  This I told her is not a bad custom to have at all!  Laden with all manner of snacks I was not going to go hungry the rest of the journey. 

By this time dusk had set in and due to the altitude the clouds had come over so there was not much of note to see out the window, you could tell it was getting colder as the condensation on the inside of the windows had frozen solid. Along the way the bus stopped at towns dropping off people and goods and picking up new ones, what is officially a 3 hr journey quickly turned to a 4-5 hour journey and we arrived in a cold dark Kars.

Without any hesitation Berra asked me if I knew where I was going, not really I replied, but I had a few hotels in my lonely planet. She looked at the names and said she knew one of them and with that she told me she would walk me to my hotel as it was dark and may be hard to find or me. 

She instructed the driver where to go and as we stepped out into the cold night air she exclaimed;

"Welcome to Kars!" Walked me to my hotel, wished me a happy time in her home town and with that we parted ways. With such a pleasant and friendly journey to the hotel door I sensed another good few days ahead. 

I did not have the heart to tell her I did not want to stay at this particular hotel (Temel) as it was the more expensive of the two I was looking at, as she was so happy she knew where it was and could guide me there. After waiting for her to leave I told the hotel clerk I was going to search around for hotel Mirac. Luckily it was the next street along and for 15tl cheaper I booked myself in. 

The friendly Erdin on the desk spoke a few sentences of English but his constant smile and friendly demeanour made him an instant hit after a long journey. I realised his grasp of English was not so good when to almost every question I asked him he just smiled and said "no problem my friend, no problem!" He told me to sit in the lobby and welcomed me with infinite amounts of tea/chai. Filling my cup again almost before I had finished the last. I told him I wanted to go to visit Ani, he smiled and said;

"No problem my friend,

No problem!" 

This question he did understand though and he exclaimed;

"My friend Celil, he take you, he s my good friend, no problem!" 

If this was the guide Celil as reccomended in the lonely planet, then what a stroke of luck it would turn out to be, and it was. Celil turned up 10 mins later, speaking perfect English and we organised to head to Ani the next day. He said I was the only tourist going, there hadn t been any tourists around for a few weeks now. I thought to myself it sounded quite nice, to have the whole Ancient site of Ani to myself!  He also recommended a great restaurant and that evening I had what would be the first of many amazing meals in Kars. 

I awoke the next day the sun blazing through my hotel room, Celil had instructed that we had to get there for around 11:30 as at this time of year, the best time to view the site is between midday and two o'clock as the early morning and late afternoon haze makes viewing/taking pictures difficult.  

Before I met Celil another trip to the bank was in order to receive a money transfer, due to my slight mishap in Istanbul. After my experience in the bank in Istanbul I knew it may be an eventful visit and so gave myself plenty of time incase of any hiccups.  

Miraculously I was seen within 5 minutes! But then the fun and games began. The teller not speaking English, had no option but to carry on asking me questions in Turkish, I smiled and offered my apologies in English that I didn t understand. With a western union transfer, just having the code is not sufficient. They need your date of birth, town of birth and a whole host of other security questions. You would think they would provide a form for the bank with the questions in Turkish and English so I could fill it out and they could understand, this however is not the case :) UK passport details are only in English and French so this didn t hell us out either. 

What then Resulted was a three way conversation as the teller next to mine called her friend who spoke English passes the phone to me, she then asked me the questions then translated my answers back over the phone in Turkish! Although she could understand me, spelling my birth town of Royal Leamington Spa for example, across the phone in Turkish was not the easiest for her.  It resulted in her asking me questions, me telling her to tell them I was pointing at the right answer in my passport! All the while we were laughing amongst ourselves at the ridiculousness of it all :) 

My situation had created quite the interest amongst the other workers and I found myself surrounded by the security guard and two other workers, all intrigued as to what I was doing in Kars. One could speak a little English and he wanted to know if I was married, I said no I m still Studying, this he and the security guard thought was very good especially when they found out I was 31! I found out he got married at 18 and the security guard at 20. In all this friendly banter and three way phone translating the manager came up to me and offered me, you be guessed it, some chai. I couldn t say no and found myself sipping tea with what was now a 4-5 strong party of interested employees! eventually I got my money and with a few warm handshakes and "enjoy your stay in Kars" I was off to Ani with Celil.

As we were leaving he recieved a call, he exclaimed another tourist was in town and wanted to come! The chances! we Drove to the hotel and picked up Yun. A young Korean student who spoke a little English and said he had been travelling turkey for a few weeks now. The random trio that we were headed off for Ani. 

The road to Ani is amazing in the winter.  Kars sits at 2000m above sea level on a broad steppe, the road from town cuts through the plateux, a lone black line tearing through the otherwise pristine white landscape. In the distance to your left you can see the Caucasus mountains that reach all the way to Georgia and Azerbaijan, to the right the distance the towering Mt Ararat is just visible, rising come shaped out of the white desert. 

We arrived in Ani and paid our 5tl entry, Celil sat himself down in the guard office and told us to follow the pathway around the site, we would need he said about 2-3 hours and with that me and Yun set off through the main gate into the ancient city. 

The setting is magical and quite spectacular, ruins scattered over an area of a few kilometres, the brown tumbledown walls sticking out in stark contrast to the sea of white around.  Straddling the Turkish Armenian border the city stands on the edge of the steppe with plunging cliff faces stretching down the east, west and south sides of the city to spectacular gorges, ravines and the river which separates Armenia from turkey on the south side. across the river and up the other side of the gorge you can see the Russian military watch towers dotted every 5km along the border.  (Since the 90s Russian military has kept a watchful eye over Armenia). As we wandered through the ruins, the silence was incredible, so peaceful, An easy place to get lost in ones thoughts. Only the sound of the crunching snow beneath our feet puncturing the silence. 

The endless blanket of snow made the sense of being in the middle of nowhere all the more vivid.  The ruins themselves whilst fascinating, come in second place to the views you get when you walk around the perimeter of the city. You start walking in a clockwise circuit of the site, you come to the ruined churches and mosques on the south side, all of a sudden the view opens up and the flat landscape falls away steeply down to the river below. It is quite something. You could sit there drinking in the view for hours if you had time. Ruins teetering improbably on the edge of cliff tops looking out over spectacular vistas.  It's hard to describe, But feel free to choose from the list of whichever superlatives you care too and you have an idea of the scene that lay before us. 

In the silence you get the chance to think of the history of the place too. A place which has been at the centre of historical events, changing hands between the Amenians, Georgians, Seljuk Persians, Mongols, Russians and Ottomans. Not forgetting also, the hand that nature has played in creating the erie ruins before you with the damage caused by the odd earthquake or two. As you circle the edge of the site your almost glued to the view to your left, the mountain landscape coupled with the impressive gorge cut out by the river below is one to savour. 

As you stand at the farthest point to the south the river gorge and valleys cut down the south east and south west sides and the river snakes off directly south zig zagging through the mountains, it's almost as if a giant three spoke wheel has dropped it self around the city,

Plunging into the earth to create the stunning scenery before you. 

I was delighted to have my new found acquaintance for the day, Yun with me. We were the only two at the site and we gladly obliged each other in taking the onligatory "look at me in this tres cool place" photos as we went around! He cracked me up, the whole way round he was muttering  and mumbling to himself in Korean, what he was whispering to himself I don t know, but it created a bizarre and amusing soundtrack to my visit. At one point he wanted a picture of himself faux climbing up a steep incline on the south side with the river below and only wearing some worn bike running shoes handed me his camera and scrambled down the almost sheer loose rock. Evidently it was looser scree than he thought and he ended up sliding a good way down before some dead plants ands there rocks stopped his fall. As he slid down the hillside his Korean mutterings became louder,  for a moment I looked on in shock as I thought, "damn he s not stopping!" I had to scramble down a little to offer a helping hand in dragging him back up, but he got the picture he wanted, maybe a little More real than he envisaged.  He got back to the top and after much laughter at the near miss we carried on our way and Yun went back to his soft conversation with himself as he walked behind me. 

On our return to Kars Celil instructed Yun to make space in the back and in jumped a cigarette smoking policeman, who evidently didn t fancy the walk home and junked out again about a mile down the road. He did have time to ask Celil where we were from and seemed amused when I said I was Engliah.  Celil wanting to know more asked where my parents were from and for the journey back we had a light hearted chat about family and nationality. Celil it turns out thinks big families are a good thing, Scandinavian women are beautiful but in his words "not marriage material" as He spent 3 years with a Danish woman "they re lovely, but they like their freedom!" He exclaimed! America and The Uk has alot to answer for as regards the problems in the region, this was when the conversation moved onto regional politics as he gave me a impromptu political history of the region. His knowledge extended to a potted geological history of the area.  He told a good story and his sense of humour meant that the truth of the information and whether or not I agreed with his views, were secondary, it passed the journey back to town nicely! He wished me well with my studies and we parted ways when he dropped me back at the hotel. 

With one more day left in Kars I awoke today to another cold, crisp and sunny morning. I ventured out at 11am and embarked on a walking tour of the town. I headed straight for the old town and towards the castle. Where Russian building from the 1879-1920 occupation dot the streets, like they ve been ripped out of at Petersburg and dumped into eastern Anatolia. A wealth of ottoman and earlier remains of mosques and churches sit nearby the river.  The half frozen river runs by them creating another idyllic setting. As I crossed the tas kopru bridge, rebuilt by the ottomans, two ottoman bath houses sit on the river side under the imposing Kars castle that sits atop a rocky hill overlooking the city. The ottoman bathhouses have been partially restored with their dome shaped roofs, I wandered in, the echo of the empty space amplified my steps, it was clear they had mow been taken over by the local drunks and homeless. Empty beer cans, bottles of raki and plastic bags scattered within the ancient walls.  not wanting to disturb any sleeping drunk who may still be braving the winter cold I exited and made my way over the bridge towards the castle. 

On the spur of the moment I decided to go off piste and started clambering up the rocks and through the snow toward the castle walls, mainly because half way up the hill were two ruins off the main pathway which seemed worth investigating.  it turned out to be a riskier than thought venture as most of  hill

Is littered with rocks and bricks from the ruins, which, When covered in snow your never quite sure if your stepping on solid ground or if you ll See your leg disappear down a gap in the rocks below twisting and braking on the way down! With my trusty hiking boots I soldiered upwards and made it to the ruined church,  halfway up the hill, again littered with the remains of some locals evening get together.  A stray dog, which looked decidedly rabid, saliva hanging around his mouth, had decided to follow me at this point barking and fixing me with a not too friendly stare. He was right in my chosen pathway, as he got closer I decided I didn t want to risk getting bitten so ended up scrambling down the snowy hillside the dog hot on my heels barking his way along behind me. Better judgement prevailed and I found the official pathway and made my way up to Kars Castle.

If you ever find yourself in Kars make sure you make the all up. The views were just spectacular. The town lay below covered in a blanket of snow, the mountains risethrough  the haze way off in the distance beyond the steppe, to create a picture perfect view, well worth the trek. Evidently this is also the place where all the young couples of kars come for a romantic afternoon walk finding their own little spot as wverywhere I explores another lair of kissing turks appeared :D 

As I looked out mosque speakers pierced  air with the call to prayer adding to the setting. At the top was a very welcome sight. A lovely cafe in a huge tent with clear plastic walls, I sat down in the comfy chairs and ordered my chai, taking in the view of the castle directly before me and the town spread out far below. Wishing I had more time to see more of the eastern reaches of turkey. 

Sadly, however, my time here in turkey is not unlimited and it's time to move on. After one last look at the scene below me i made the walk down to town. taking care not to slip on the icy pathway devoid of any grit. Having spent a winter in Reykjavik, I became skilled in the art of navigating my way over sheet ice on pavements! 

A morning train to Kayaeri awaits me

At 7am tomorrow and New Years in Cappadocia! 

Till next time folks!