Eastern Anatolia Travel Guide
Mount Ararat, eastern Turkey. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Eastern Anatolia is Turkey's high, spare east: volcanic peaks, the great soda lake of Van, and the medieval Armenian capital of Ani on the Armenian border. It is the least visited of the regions and the most dramatic.
Mount Ararat (5,137 m) dominates the horizon from Doğubayazıt, below the Ishak Pasha Palace. Lake Van holds Akdamar Island's 10th-century church. Ani's ruined churches and walls stand on the closed border, a UNESCO site since 2016.
Key destinations in Eastern Anatolia
Ani ruinsThe medieval Armenian capital on the border: churches and walls.
Mount AraratThe 5,137-m volcano, seen from Doğubayazıt; climbs need permits and guides.
Ishak Pasha PalaceThe 1784 palace-fortress above Doğubayazıt, with Ararat behind it.
Akdamar IslandThe 10th-century Church of the Holy Cross on Lake Van.
Lake VanThe great soda lake: ferries to Akdamar, Van cats in the old town.- Çıldır LakeThe high lake of Kars: horse-sleighs on the ice in winter.
Hover a region to explore it. Click a city pin to open its guide.
Top Cities & towns in Eastern Anatolia
Regional food
- Van breakfast (the famous spread of cheeses, honey and menemen)
- Cağ kebap (Erzurum's horizontal-spit lamb)
- Honey and cheese of the high pastures
Getting there
Fly to Van (VAN), Erzurum (ERZ) or Kars (KHC). The Eastern Express train runs Ankara to Kars, a celebrated winter journey. Distances are long and winters are severe; the region needs time.