This morning we drive across the steppe to Ani, the Armenian 10th century capital, now a lonely but beautiful site located at the edge of the still closed Turkish/Armenian border. This powerful Armenian trading centre, one of the most unforgettable sites in Turkey, lying on an off-shoot of the Silk Road, was well fortified, was known as the City of 1001 Churches, and at its height during the 10th and 11th centuries was one of the world's largest cities. We will take in the remains of this tragic but beautiful city, including the 'forbidden zone' fortress right on the Armenian border.  We then continue west to Erzurum, en route to which we visit Sarıkamış, site of a military tragedy during WW1, picnicking in the now tranquil pine-covered hills, before we continue to the impressive 13th Century Cobandere bridge, an important link on the Silk Road. This evening we will head out to dinner to sample the rich cuisine of the high steppe, no doubt with an opportunity to try the Çag Kebab, a horizontal döner kebab served sliced onto little skewers.

Erzurum is Turkey’s highest city at 1900m and was an important stopping point on the Silk Road and has always been a strategically important border town between empires, be it the Romans and Persians, Byzantines and Seljuk Turks, the Ottoman and Russian empires, or most recently between NATO and the Soviet Union. The city is decorated with Seljuk monuments and we will visit the finest of them - the Twin Minaret and the Yakutiye Madrasa. We then spend the afternoon crossing the beautiful Pontic Alps en route to the Black Sea coastal city of Trazbon.

Approx. 4-5 hrs drive