Erzurum

Arzrum is revered as the main city in Asian Turkey. <…> The climate of Arzrum is harsh. The city is built in a hollow that rises 7,000 feet above the sea. The mountains surrounding it are covered with snow for most of the year. The land is treeless, but fruitful. It is irrigated by many springs and is everywhere crossed by water pipes. Arzrum is famous for its water. The Euphrates flows three miles from the city. But there are many fountains everywhere. Each has a tin bucket hanging on a chain, and good Muslims drink and do not boast.
A. S. Pushkin “Journey to Arzrum during the campaign of 1829”
The capital of the largest province of the same name in Eastern Anatolia is located 880 km east of Ankara at an altitude of more than 1700 m above sea level. The name of the city comes from the Persian arz-i rum, which means “the border of Rome.” Through Erzurum passes the railway from Anatolia to Iran, built along the route Continue reading →