Day 12 - Georgian Valleys

By 9 am we are in Erzurum. We have both managed to sleep on the night-bus from Goreme thanks to seats that lean really far back. Our plan is to rent a car and drive to Kars and Dogubayazit in two or three days. By 11.30 am we are on the highway, heading north through the Georgian Valleys.

Our first stop is Oskvank. After a long but pleasant winding 1 lane road we park in front of a huge crumbling cathedral. The columns inside are massive and even though the building is slowly wearing away you can still see some parts of frescoes painted on the walls.





Ishan was the most difficult place to visit, we drove up a very steep, winding 1 lane mountain road, up switchbacks and along the sides of a huge canyon until we reached a little village, and just past we finally arrived at the Church of the Mother of God. The theme of huge columns and high domes is repeated here, and you can't help feeling something of the history of the place. The drive down that canyon road is almost as much of an adventure as going up!

As we drive through the countryside we're amazed by the variety of landscape that we're crossing, huge canyons with the road snaking between sheer cliffs, and idyllic farmland villages nestled comfortably in between mountain peaks. We pass many herds of cattle and sheep with their shepherds.




We finally arrive in Kars in the rain, and with some effort we find the Otel Temel. We befriend the hotel manager there, and have a conversation of sorts, with lots of nodding, hand motions laughing and reading from our Turkish phrasebook.

You can see more of our photos here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/thewozza
http://picasaweb.google.com/leah.lesyk/Istanbul