Anna & Isak Eskinazi Co. - Professional Tourist Guide Services in Turkey

Boldly contoured in crayon colors of ash gray, rust red, and tawny yellow, the great mass of eastern Anatolia stretches away from the central plateau to the snowcapped peaks of the eastern border. It is an amazingly diverse land differing profoundly from the rest of the country. This region has an active past: as the battlefront of eastern and western cultures, between the Romans and Parthians, the Byzantines and Sassanids, the conflict culminated in the final conquest of Anatolia by an eastern people, the Seljuk Turks.

Where the central steppe gives way to the more mountainous terrain of the east are the most important Seljuk centers of Sivas, Divrigi, Battalgazi (outside modern Malatya), Harput (outside Elazig), and Ahlat, all of which possess monuments testifying to the brilliant achievements of Seljuk art.

Situated at a height of 1.950 meters (6,396 feet) is Erzurum. In the city are mosques and mausoleums of the Seljuk and Mongol periods and the well preserved walls of the Byzantine fortress. To the north is the much embattled frontier city of Kars, dominated by a formidable fortress, and nearby are the ruins of 10th century Ani.

Mt. Ararat (Agri), Turkey's highest peak at 5.137 meters (16,850 feet), is where Noah's Ark is believed to have come to rest. It is also where history is thought to have begun and stands as a dividing point between nations and empires. At the base of this mountain is the intriguing 17th century mosque and palace of lshak Pasha at Dogubayazit. On the banks of the immense but beautiful Lake Van is the city of the same name, with its Urartu citadel dating back to the 1st millennium BC and mosques and mausoleums of the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. In the lake is Akdamar Island where the fascinating 10th century church of the Holy Cross stands. Ahlat was an important Seljuk cultural center with many monuments to testify to that history.

In the region that was once upper Mesopotamia in the basin of the Dicle (Tigris) and Firat (Euphrates) Rivers, are the cities of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Sanliurfa, all former centers of the Hurri-Mitanni in the 2nd millennium BC. Diyarbakir is characterized by its massive black basalt walls while Mardin's striking white medieval architecture is peculiar to this city alone. Sanliurfa is noteworthy for its connection with the life of Abraham. South of Sanliurfa is the village of Harran (with its curious domed dwellings), believed to be mentioned in the book of Genesis and where Abraham lived for several years.

Finally, north of Adiyaman in the mountain vastness of the southeast, stands one of Turkey's most spectacular monuments, the funerary sanctuary of Mt. Nemrut. With its colossal toppled heads of gods, which were erected 2,000 years ago for King Antiochus I, a Commagene king, the silent plain bespeaks the calm of eternity.