Does anyone wanna go to Georgia?
Trip Start
Feb 01, 2008
1
2
6
Trip End
??? ??, 2008
Kars, Dogubayazit and Borjomi., Turkey
Monday, April 14, 2008
First a little warning. I have so much to say about my last adventure that this travel blog might be a little long. If you're not prepared for a good sit-down read, then move on!
We had decided to fly to Kars, as the plane ticket (round-trip) was about 30 dollars more, and this way we'd be saved the 16 hour bus ride and only have to endure an hour and a half flight instead. After many long night buses, this was an extremely easy choice to make.
I set off Wednesday morning with two friends; Eelke (from Holland) and Martin (from Germany). Another friend, Rob (British) was coming the next day, since he had an exam to write that day.
The flight went really well and it was no time at all before we were beginning our descent. However, we soon began to ascend and then continued to fly for another 30 minutes before re-descending. I thought this was a little strange but pushed it aside. But after landing, while people began to talk and move around, no one exited the plane. The door was even open and people were standing in front of it smoking, but not a single person left. Then a fire truck and another vehicle drove up and started to re-fuel the plane. After this continued for 15-20 minutes we were thoroughly confused and asked a flight attendant what the hell was going on. It turns out that the weather had been too bad to make a safe landing in Kars, so the had to re-route us to Erzurum, the next city with an airport, where we had to wait for the weather to clear up so that we could try another landing in Kars. We waited another 30 an hour or so, but it was kinda nice because we got to go into the cockpit and check it out. So many buttons!! I wouldn't know what to do with them all!
We once again set off for Kars, but knowing that the weather had created a dangerous landing environment one hour earlier did nothing to make me feel any more secure. Luckily, we landed safe and sound. Our hour and a half bus ride turned into a four hour journey.
We didn't really have any concrete plan getting off the plane, we thought we'd just wing it and see how it went. In the parking lot I saw a bus going to Doğubayazıt, which has the İshak Paşa Palace that I really wanted to see. So I went to the man to ask about departures, times and all that good stuff. What ensued next was 10 minutes of chaos and confusion. He told me that he leaves everyday, but I couldn't get any further info out of him (like at what times). Then a British guy appeared out of nowhere, telling us that they were actually leaving right away and that we should go with them at that moment and then come back in the morning (it's two hours away). At the same time the driver, for some reason that we're still not clear on, handed Eelke a cellphone and she started to talk to some man in English. As well, Martin had started to haggle with a taxi driver about fares into the city (of Kars). After about 5 minutes Martin and I decided that it was probably a good idea to go to Doğubayazıt so we hopped in the van and had to grab Eelke, who was still talking to some strange man on the phone. We had to leave the poor taxi driving standing there not really understanding what was going on. So that was how we ended up going to Doğubayazıt.
I was really excited, because I really wanted to see the Palace while I was in the region. We took off an an intense, two hour journey alongside the Armenian border, crossing extremely varied landscapes and climates. The ride itself was a major highlight of the trip; we drove through rain, snow and bright sunshine, through valleys, deserts and mountains. The variations in landscape were incredible. I spent the whole time just watching the scenery pass by. Halfway into the trip we stopped at a very small roadside store to pick up some food (we were absolutely starving). Since Martin only had 50 lira (about 40 dollars) to pay for our 3 lira worth of food, they decided that rather than make change (which Turks hate) we could just get our lunch for free!
After a very interesting two hour ride, we got to Doğubayazıt, where we immediately proceeded to the Palace. It was actually supposed to be closed, but our driver had called saying we'd be late and they kept it open just for us.
İshak Paşa is fantastic. Not only is the Palace so extravagant, but it also boasts an amazing setting. It's placed on a plateau from where you can see kilometers of plains, framed by the beautiful Mt. Ararat (at 5137 m, it's Turkey's highest mountain). It's the kind of Palace that you dream about as a little kid.
When we returned to Doğubayazıt after the Palace, it turned out that there had been some miscommunication concerning the ride, and that it was going to be a bit more expensive than originally thought. Then, Mehmet (friend of our driver) invited us to stay in his office for the night, free of charge. Initially we were skeptical and said no. But after some debate, we decided, what the hell, there's three of us and a free night's accommodation doesn't sound too bad. Plus, Martin carries a big knife (which comes in really handy for picnics) so if anything goes awry we have some sort of defense.
So Mehmet brought us to his office, our hotel for the night. It was pretty neat because he owns a company that does rescues for climbers on Mt. Ararat and he had all these medals and awards on the wall from various Embassies and businesses for rescuing people. He also had so many stunning pictures from the top of the mountain. We went out for dinner, and our driver (also named Mehmet) ended up paying for our dinner, because we had been upset with how much the drive had cost!! So that day we really only paid for our transportation. It was the beginning of a really cheap weekend.
After dinner I was so exhausted and went to sleep right away, but Martin stayed up talking with Mehmet and it wasn't until the next morning did he tell us that Mehmet had slept in his car that night to give us the couches to sleep on! Eelke and I felt bad that we had asked for an extra blanket! Where else will someone sleep in their car to give complete strangers a place to sleep for a night? That's the infamous Turkish hospitality.
We headed back to Kars that morning and arrived at the airport just as our friend got in (luckily, his plane landed on time). We got into town, found a place to stay, and as we were checking in some man enters and tells us that he was the guy who Eelke talked to on the phone the previous day. Turns out he's a well-known tour guide/driver for Ani, the ruins outside the city that we were planning on visiting the next day (he's even in my Lonely Planet). So we arranged for him (Celil) to take us the following day (I still have no idea how he found out what hotel we were at).
We spent the day checking out Kars; they have a great castle with amazing views. At the moment I'm reading Kar (Snow in English), a very famous Turkish book set in Kars; Martin as well had just read it, so we wanted to find all the important places mentioned in the book. Kars is famous for their honey and kaşar cheese (sheep cheese) so we stocked up on that and pretty much lived off of bread, honey, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers and pistachios for the next few days. We also had the opportunity to see an English movie, something I haven't had the pleasure of doing in a very long time. The movie wasn't very good, but it was so nice to have some English entertainment that I enjoyed it anyways!
Friday morning we went to Ani, an ancient Armenian capital located about an hour out of Kars. It's completely surrounded by mountains, creating an incredibly peaceful atmosphere. It's right on the Eastern edge of Turkey, about 50m (at the most) from Armenia, separated only by a little river. Halfway through our visit there we met a security guard, Deniz, you became our de facto tour guide. There's an old, crumbling minaret that he told the boys to climb up, from where you can have an amazing view. Only when they got down did he show them, while laughing hysterically, the sign that says, "dangerous and prohibited".
After Ani, we decided to make a little foray into Georgia. Celil, the driver, helped us out a lot in this area. He called and made sure we could get a minibus to Posof, the nearest town to the border. Once in Posof, a little Switzerland-esque town placed in the middle of a valley completely surrounded by mountains, we got a ride to the border. The border crossing was a breeze and we were soon on Georgian territory. From there, we had to make our way to Borjomi. Getting there was a bit more difficult than we had imagined, if only due to the horrible state of the roads. The (only) road from the border is in such bad shape that it took us about 50 minutes to get 15 km!!! Some sections are better than others, but overall, you're in for a long journey. We finally reached our destination at 10:30 pm, only to find to realize that almost every hotel in the town was closed. We finally found a place that looked semi-open, and just as we rang the bell a car (an old Lada of course) came screeching to a halt in front of us. Two guys jumped out and asked if we needed help. It just so happened that one of them was the son of the owner, as it was a family-run type business. Luckily they let us in and we got a place to sleep for the night.
We asked if there was a place where we could grab something to eat and they said that they'd bring us somewhere. So all four of us hop in the car and we take off leaving the other guy behind. When we ask about him, he just tells us, "he can walk". We only drove about 20 m at most so I understood his point.
They take us to this building that in no way resembles a bar. We have to walk down a flight of stairs into this cellar-like basement, completely made of stone. It fulfilled my Soviet fantasies in every regard. It was dark, mysterious and to really make it great there were men drinking behind a curtain being served unlimited amounts of vodka by a mustached woman. An old woman took our order and nothing that we got was what we had actually ordered (but it was still really good). Even the wine was homemade and served out of pop bottles. To really make the night, the men behind the curtain finally revealed themselves and began dancing like nothing I've ever seen to intense Russian music. It was perfect; nothing could have made me feel like I was in the former Soviet Union more than that night. Our two hosts and yet another man in the bar all turned out to be named George, I guess there's not much deviation in Georgia.
I really wanted to see more of Georgia, because it intrigued me soo much. It only whetted my appetite for more Russian-influence. However, time was short and we had to get back to Turkey so we wouldn't miss our flight home. We ended up taking one minibus to a small town, and from there an old man drove us in the back of his truck, then another bus, then we got another ride from some Armenians who were going to the border. Once back in Turkey, we got a ride to Posof, where we got some much needed rest. We were the entertainment of the village for the day, as people followed us on the streets (harmlessly out of curiosity) whenever we walked around. Finally, bright and early the next morning, we got to Kars and took our plane back to Ankara.
It was a whirlwind, adventurous weekend. What really made it distinct was the people. While Turkish people are famous for their hospitality, I've never seen anything like I did this weekend. People really just wanted to help us, with no hidden intentions. The NE is the least visited region of Turkey, and I think that adds to people's curiousity and kindness. As well, the landscape was unreal. I felt like I visited 10 different countries in four and a half days. I had such a fanstastic time, and I hope this blog wasn't too long and boring, but there were just so many little details that I wanted to include.
