Dogybayazit, Eastern Turkey

Dramatic Dogubayazit, set on a stark treeless plain between ranges of craggy mountains, is the last Turkish town on the highway to Iran.

The border, 35km (22 miles) to the east, helps to define the role that Dogubayazit (doh-OO-bah-yah-zuht, alt. 1950 meters/6400 feet, pop. 36,000) plays in life, as does the striking 18th-century Ishak Pasha Palace 5 km (3 miles) to the east.

You may be here to gaze upon legendary Mount Ararat, or the giant meteor crater 4 km (2.5 miles) west of the border, or Eski Beyazit, the foundations of a settlement thought to date from Urartian times (800 BC). Unless, of course, you're a soldier guarding the border region.... (For what that's like, read "Some People Never Learn" from my humorous travel memoir, Bright Sun Strong Tea.)

Bus and car are the only ways to reach this town. The nearest airports and train stations are at Erzurum and Van.

If you drive out here, don't do as I did and get stuck! Follow the locals' advice. (Read Some People Never Learn from Bright Sun, Strong Tea.)

According to TTP traveler Ed Brook, however, the road south from Dogubayazit to Çaldiran is now in good condition, with regular minibus trips making the run. Onward from there, the road is fine to Van.

Distances & Travel Times

Agri: 87 km (54 miles) W, 1.5 hours

Ankara: 1210 km (752 miles) W, 17 hours

Erzurum: 285 km (177 miles) W, 4 hours

Igdir: 53 km (33 miles) N, 1 hour

Istanbul: 1560 km (969 miles) W, 28 to 34 hours

Kars: 223 km (139 miles) N (via Sarikamis), 4 hours

Van: 307 km (191 miles) S (via Agri & Patnos), 4.5 hours

Mount Ararat

Lake Van

Erzurum

Kars & Ani