Eastern Anatolia

Typical landscape of Eastern Anatolia in summer: rugged treeless terrain covered with green meadows, and the occassional snow-capped volcano positioning itself in the mix—Mt Ararat in this photo. Eastern Anatolia (Turkish: Doğu Anadolu) is a region in Turkey. It occupies the mountainous east of the country and has the harshest winters. Provinces Ağrı Province Ardahan Province Bingöl Province Bitlis Province Elazığ Province Erzincan Province Erzurum Province Hakkâri Province Iğdır Province Kars Province Malatya Province Muş Province Tunceli Province Van Province Cities Darende Dogubeyazit — town on Iranian border, fascinating Ishak Pasa Palace is located nearby Erzincan Erzurum — biggest city of the region, near Palandöken Ski Centre Kars — city in northeast, with interesting Russian architecture Malatya — one of the large cities in western part of Eastern Anatolia Muş — town on the railroad to Tatvan/Lake Van Tatvan — on the western coast of Lake Van, eastern terminus of railway from Istanbul, with ferry connections to Van and then on to Iran. Van — city on the eastern coast of Lake Van, with some remnants from Urartu civilization and some Armenian monasteries, too. Other destinations Ani — the old Armenian capital Nemrut Dagi Mountain — a UNESCO World Heritage site, with statues on its summit Understand Covering an area in which you can fit in four Switzerlands with still some more room, but with a population of just over 6 million, Eastern Anatolia is all about lonely and vast landscapes of mountainous terrain, with occasional flat-ish plateau inflitrated inbetween. Climate While the daytime temperatures of around 20–25°C—it can easily hit 30°C or more in relatively lower western parts of the region around Malatya, though—in summer make travelling in Eastern Anatolia a breeze (especially if you have arrived from the much hotter regions of Southern and Southeastern Turkey), the nights are fairly chilly and it's common for temperatures to go down as low as +12°C in late evenings, even in the hottest month of August, so pack along at least a cardigan or sweater. Eastern Anatolia is constantly under snowcover during winter, which even shuts some non-major roads for days on end, and temperature can drop as low as a whopping -40°C — warm clothing is more essential than ever. Talk In the eastern and southeastern areas (near Iranian border and around Lake Van) of the region, the mother tongue of most locals is Kurdish. However most locals, especially younger ones, are also bilingual in Turkish, although heavily accented in most cases. Local Turkish dialect spoken in northeastern section of the region (around Erzurum, Kars, Iğdır) is far from the standard Turkish based on Istanbul dialect and is virtually identical to Azerbaijani spoken in the neigbouring country. Zaza may also be heard in certain locales, especially in the central parts of the region around Tunceli and Bingöl. Get in Erzurum is the main gateway to the region with fairly frequent air, bus, and rail connections with the rest of the country. Other secondary-major cities with airports include Malatya, and Van, both of which also has rail links with the rest of the country, and with Iran in the case of Van. Occasionally potholed (but getting better and wider day by day) highways connect the region to other Turkish regions in north, south, and west; and to Iran to east. Get around See Muradiye Waterfalls (Muradiye Şelalesi). A quite large waterfall, usually getting frozen in winter. It is north of Muradiye, which is about 80 km north of Van, off the highway to Doğubeyazıt. Do Eat Meat is more or less what the whole local cuisine is dependent on in the region, as a very little number of vegetables can be grown in this highland with cool and short summers. Drink Stay safe Most towns and cities in the region are 1,500 mt above the sea elevation (a fair number of which are close to 2,000 mt), and it's not uncommon for mountains—some of which are popular sights in themselves—to rise more than 3,000 mt, so make sure to take usual precautions against altitude sickness. Get out This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!