Istanbul to Erzurum and Kars by train in Sept/Oct

[sally]

In mid September we took the overnight train (2 person sleeper)from Istanbul to Ankara. In Ankara we spent a day visiting museums and then went overnight by train to Erzurum. The tickets had been booked by e-mail through Turista Travel in Istanbul. The Turkish train website was impossible to use for booking. The journey was wonderful. The train went slowly and the scenery was superb - we crawled up gorges beside rushing rivers. Our cabin had a wash basin and stocked fridge! The beds were clean and comfortable. The restaurant car was OK. In Erzurum we picked up a clapped out hire car from Avis and headed to the Kackar mountains for a few days hiking. We arrived in Barhal and it started to rain. It rained and rained and people were drowned in floods in Artvin at the end of our valley. We weren't able to see the yayla. Other groups were driven down by snow and ice. When the roads were finally deemed safe enough for us to escape we headed for Savsat and then on to Kars (the setting for Orphan Pamuk's book 'Snow'). At the beginning of October it started to snow and there was a mega power cut in Kars. We sat in the dark in a cold hotel foyer with the remnants of an Azerbajani folk group who sang doleful songs. We visited Ani ringed by snowy mountains on a sunny day - that was wonderful. We trained back from Erzurum to Istanbul. A friend did Kars-Erzurum on the train and said it was marvellous. The cost of Istanbul-Erzurum return with two nights in a first class 2 person sleeper is around 100 euro.

With time spent to see Istanbul the journey took three weeks and despite the appalling weather we loved it and are planning another trip next Spring. Turkish people are so hospitable and kind.