Erzurum, 1240 km (771 miles) east of Istanbul and 873 km (542 miles) east of Ankara, is the “capital” of Eastern Turkey, a transportation center, and a good base for explorations of Turkey’s scenically spectacular but less developed east (map).
Erzurum was an important Seljuk Turkish city in the 1100s and 1200s, and has important Seljuk buildings such as the Çifte Minareli Medrese, the Mongol-built Yakutiye Medrese, a very old citadel, and various distinctive Seljuk Turkishtombs.
The museum and bazaar are also interesting and, in winter, the Palandöken ski resort on the city outskirts draws skiers from throughout Turkey to its dry powder.
Use Erzurum as a base for visits to the beautiful Tortum Valley and Georgian churches in the Kaçkar Mountains to the northeast, and to Doğubayazıt. to gaze on Mount Ararat.
If you don’t have enough time to complete my Recommended Itinerary of Eastern Turkey, you may want to fly to Erzurum, rent a car, and see the sights from here.
The Doğu Ekspresi (Eastern Express) train runs daily to and from Ankara, Kayseri (Cappadocia), Sivas, Divriği and Erzincan.
The train hauls sleeping cars, but is much slower than the bus, much much slower than a flight, and not as comfortable as sleeping car trains in western Turkey.
Distances & Travel Times
Ankara: 925 km (575 miles) W, 13 hours
Artvin: 215 km (134 miles) N, 4 hours
Diyarbakır: 485 km (301 miles) S, 8 hours
Doğubayazıt: 285 km (177 miles) E, 4.5 hours
Erzincan: 188 km (117 miles) W, 3 hours
Istanbul: 1275 km (792 miles) W, 24 to 30 hours
Kars: 200 km (124 miles) NE, 3.5 hours
Sivas: 485 km (301 miles) W, 7 hours
Tortum: 55 km (34 miles) N, 50 minutes
Trabzon: 325 km (202 miles) NW, 6 hours
Yusufeli: 130 km (81 miles) N, 3 hours
Van: 410 km (255 miles) SE, 6.5 hours
—by Tom Brosnahan
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