Eastern Anatolia

What this route is about

Three stops, three civilisations that left their mark on eastern Anatolia. Akdamar is a 10th-century Armenian church on an islet in Lake Van, its outer walls carved with biblical scenes that are still legible today. İshak Paşa Palace is 18th century — a complex where Ottoman, Seljuk, Armenian and Georgian craftsmanship meet in one building, complete with its own central heating system. Ani was the capital of the Bagratuni Armenian kingdom in the 10th and 11th centuries, known as the city of a thousand and one churches, with a population above 40,000. Earthquakes and shifting trade routes emptied it. Today it stands alone on an open plain beside the Akhurian river, right against the border.

This is the least-visited corner of Türkiye, and that is part of its value: at all three sites you will be close to alone.

Splitting it into days

Distances are large — Van to Kars is roughly 400 km. Four days is a tight schedule.

• Day 1 — Van. Akdamar Island and Van Castle.
• Day 2 — Drive to Doğubayazıt (about 3 hours). İshak Paşa Palace in the late afternoon light.
• Day 3 — Drive to Kars (about 4 hours). The city and Kars Castle.
• Day 4 — Ani. Half a day at the site, then head back.

When to go

June to September. This region has the harshest climate in the country: long winters, -20 °C and below as a matter of routine, and roads that can close. In summer the air is clear, the high pastures are green and daytime temperatures are comfortable. Neither Ani nor İshak Paşa offers any shade, and the wind is strong in every season.

Kars and Sarıkamış draw a different crowd in January and February for skiing and the Eastern Express — but that is a separate trip, not this route.

Practical notes

A rental car is effectively required; public transport on this line is very sparse. Ani is in a border zone: stay on marked paths and do not attempt to fly a drone. The Akdamar ferry may not run in winter or rough weather. Distances between fuel stations are long — keep the tank full.