Short Trip to Eastern Anatolia; Second Stop: Ağrı / Doğubeyazıt

This article is the second part of our trip to Eastern Anatolia. To read the first part, please click here: First stop: Van.

After visiting our last stop, Van Cat House, we headed to the Ağrı’s famous town Doğubeyazıt. During the trip we took two breaks. One was in Şeytan Köprüsü (Devil’s Bridge), the other one was in Muradiye Şelalesi (Muradiye Waterfall). Both were in Muradiye village of Van, close to the Ağrı’s border.

Şeytan Köprüsü (39°01'21.4"N 43°44'50.3"E) is a little bridge on a narrow valley with beautiful flowers. This 19^th century’s bridge is just 15 meters long and 18 meters high from the valley. Because of its narrowest wideness (only 3 meters) it can be dangerous for people. According to a legend, after a wedding regiment fall off during their passage across the bridge, the people of the region started to call the bridge devil’s bridge.

After the bridge, we passed to the waterfall. It took 15 minutes by car.

Muradiye Şelalesi (39°03'24.4"N 43°45'25.5"E) is not so high (around 20 meters) but it offers a nice view. To clearly see the fall, you have to pass a drawbridge.

We ate our lunch here, it was good but there was no so many choice so you may prefer to eat before living Van or when arriving to Doğubeyazıt (Restaurants and supermarkets options are very limited during the trip between these two cities).

After the waterfall, when you drive about 30 minutes, you will reach the volcanic zone of Mount Tendürek which is a shield volcano. The mountain reaches 3533 meters and dates 700,000–500,000 years BP to 13,000 BP. It is mostly constructed from basaltic lavas. The last known activity had been a gas and ash eruption in 1855 and the hot vapor activities still continue.

The ashes at the feet of the mountain were really stunning.

When approaching to Dogubeyazit, you will see the Mount Ararat

Entrance of the city

After this landscape we arrived to our hotel. There is not too much choice for hotels in Doğubeyazıt, we stayed at Boutique Ertur Hotel. It was clean, the staff was kind and the breakfast was good.

When we arrived the town, it was a little bit late and the weather was foggy. So we did not manage to see the Mount Ararat (Turkish: Ağrı Dağı).

Doğubeyazıt is easternmost district of Turkey on the Iranian border and 1625 meters above sea level. Mount Ararat is 5137 meters. Snow-capped Ararat Mountain is the highest mountain in Turkey and it is also the highest in Europe (if we did not count the Russian and Georgian mountains). Doğubeyazıt is the best place in Turkey to see Mount Ararat. Just beside the Ararat there is also a Little Ararat, but it is not so little actually, it is 3896 meters.

Mount Ararat

Mount Ararat and Little Ararat in two different angles:

Iranian Border, Gürbulak:

Doğubeyazıt is well known also with a stone formation believed to be Noah's ark. We did not go there but it is possible to visit.

We stayed only one night in Doğubeyazıt. During the night it had snowed. In the morning we found that snow made a fairylike scenery. Thanks to snow, the weather got clear and we saw Mount Ararat too. 

After the breakfast we went directly to Ishak Pasha Palace (Turkish: İshak Paşa Sarayı). It is a semi-ruined palace complex near the center of town. The full construction of the palace takes 100 years (between the years 1685 - 1784).

Below, the left picture shows bath and the right picture shows the kitchen area: 

There is a mosque inside the place:

There was also a castle in front of the palace:

After the palace we went to the meteor crater close to the Iranian border. Actually this is not a meteor crater but a pit cave, but when we visited we didn’t know this information. Visiting the pitch is free of charge but it is in a military zone in the border, so you have to pass an identity control and sometimes, because of military duties, the passage is close.

Mount Ararat from the pit:

Then we headed to Erzurum. During the trip we took a lunch break in Ağrı. We ate in a home cooking style restaurant. It was really delicious but unfortunately I do not recall the name, it was a new opened restaurant. We parked our car (parking: 39°43'14.3"N 43°03'03.6"E) and then found this place by chance on Bülbül Caddesi, number 57.

Heading to Erzurum:

One last picture of Mount Ararat :D

Çobandede Bridge

After lunch, we continued to Erzurum. From Doğubeyazıt to Erzurum our trip took 3h30minutes (from Ağrı it takes 2h15min.). For reading my Erzurum notes, pleasevisit the article about the third and last part of our journey.