The next week or so in Georgia was lovely, but I’ve been putting off writing about it because nothing really stood out. So, I’ve decided to skip it and move onto Turkey instead.
From Batumi, on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia, I took a regular public bus to the border with Turkey in Sarpi/Sarp. Crossing the border was a bit less organised than some of the places I’ve been recently, but was easy enough, and once I got through the other side I hopped in a dolmuş (minivan) to Hopa, the nearest town with a bus station.
Walking into the bus station, I was greeted by a lovely man yelling “Kars?” at me across the station area. We established that Kars was indeed my destination, and that I already had a ticket, and he showed me to the bus company’s office where I could have a comfy seat to sit and wait. A Singaporean woman showed up not much later who was taking the same route as me. She had come overland all the way from Singapore!
The bus ride itself was interesting. There was no air conditioning, so the driver drove for some time with the doors open just to get some airflow. He also was smoking as he was driving, which was a bit of a surprise. The scenery was lovely though, so it wasn’t all bad!
When planning to go to Kars, I didn’t really intend to do much while there – it was more of a transit point rather than a destination in itself. I had heard about a place in the vicinity called Ani, where there is an archeological site with some ruins from a significant Silk Road city. I hadn’t planned on going though, as it seemed difficult to get to and I wasn’t that desperate to see more ruins at this point in time. Talking to the Singaporean woman, however, I was convinced to look into seeing if I could make it work. I could find a few things online about a bus that did the round trip, but there was nothing official published anywhere, and the place where people were saying it left from wasn’t even a bus stop, but rather a no stopping zone, which seemed a bit odd. Kars itself didn’t seem that interesting though, and I had a day to fill, so I decided to wander down in the morning and see if it was there.
It was! I hopped on, paid my 100 lira, and was driven the 45km to Ani. The price included the return trip, so we were given around 3 hours to explore the site before needing to be back on the bus. While walking around, I met Max from the US, and Yves from France, who had both come on the same bus as me. We had a good chat as we wandered around the ruins. This part of Turkey was historically Armenia, as a good portion of eastern Turkey was, and Ani now sits right on the border with modern-day Armenia. There’s a river running along the edge of the archeological site that marks the border, and a flagpole with the Armenian flag not far off. There’s also signs of this within the site itself – churches rather than mosques, for example.
We arrived back to Kars in the early afternoon, and I spent the rest of my day wandering around the town. I decided to walk up to the castle on the hill, but along the way wandered past a mosque that was neighboured by what looked like a church, at least in its shape. As I got closer, a man invited me inside, and when I approached the door I could see that it was also a mosque. The man explained that he was the caretaker, and then told me all about the place: how it was originally a church (Armenian, presumably), but had been converted into a mosque, he pulled back the carpet to show me the original tiled floors, took me through the different rooms, and encouraged me to take some pictures. He then gave me some recommendations for other things to see in Kars, and sent me on my way.
The castle was next, and while I had already planned to go, it was also one of the recommendations from the man at the mosque. The castle itself wasn’t particularly interesting, but it provided a nice view over the city, and I realised that by exiting out the rear entrance, I was pretty close to the other main place he had recommended, an old military complex that was now owned by the university.
I wasn’t 100% sure the road would actually take me there, though I could see it, so I decided to give it a go. I ended up having to go off road and along a bit of a path, but I figured it out and had a quick look around. the sun was just about setting by this stage so I didn’t stay long, instead wandering back into town to find something to eat before heading back to the hotel.
The next morning it was time for the reason I had travelled via Kars: the Doğu Ekspresi, a 26 hour, 1944 km train ride across the country. 26 hours is a rather long time, and I was slightly concerned about having to spend that long in a small cabin with strangers. I had also read that the restaurant car left a lot to be desired.
So, I stocked up on snacks, charged my headphones, and prepared myself for the worst while hoping for the best. The booking system only allows solo female travellers to book in a cabin with other female travellers, but I noticed that beside us were several empty cabins, so I found a member of staff and I negotiated myself a cabin to myself. I then spent my time journaling, listening to music, and watching the ever changing scenery as it went by. The internet was correct that the food options on board weren’t particularly exciting, but I had a toasted sandwich and a couple of cups of tea to supplement the yoghurt, apples, and bag of chips I had brought with me. In the evening, the police came on board to check everyone’s ID, and then I settled in to bed. Sleeping on a train is unlikely to ever be particularly comfortable, but I actually got a decent nights sleep. By morning, the train was running a bit late so by the time we reached Ankara it had been 28 hours rather than 26, and I was glad to finally reach my accommodation and freshen up a bit.
I spent my afternoon in Ankara exploring the Antikabir, which houses Ataturk’s mausoleum, and then walking up to the Ankara Castle on the hill for some views over the city. I didn’t have long in Ankara, but it was nice to see a little bit of the city before heading to Istanbul the next morning for part two of my Turkey adventure.
emilyonearth 
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