The hidden tourist attraction in Eastern Turkey

Dogubayazit is a city and district of Agri Province of Turkey, and is Turkey’s most eastern district, the border crossing to Iran. Elevation 1625 m. Area 2,383 km².

Dogubayazit is a city and district of Agri Province of Turkey, and is Turkey’s most eastern district, the border crossing to Iran. Elevation 1625 m. Area 2,383 km². Population (2010) 115,354 (up from 73,794 in 1980) of which 69,447 live in the town of Dogubeyazit, the remainder in the surrounding countryside.

The town of Dogubayazit is a settlement with a long history. It lies 15 km southwest of Mount Ararat, 93 km east of the city of Agri and 35 km from the Iranian border. The town stands on a plain surrounded by some of Turkey’s highest peaks including: Ararat (5,137m), Little Ararat (3,896m), Tendurek Dagi (3,533m), Kaletepe (3,196m) Aridagi (2,934m) and Gollertepe (2,643m).

The weather on the plain is hot and dry in summer, cold and dry in winter.

The Dogubayazit district of the eastern Turkish province of Agri has become the focus of interest for domestic and foreign tourists along with the solution process, an initiative to resolve the Kurdish issue which has scaled down terror-related court cases and revived tourism in eastern Turkey.

Chairman of the Chamber of Trade and Industry in Dogubayazit, Ali Efe told Anadolu Agency that Dogubayazit has hosted a great many of domestic and foreign tourists so far with its historically and naturally beautiful landscapes, such as Agri Mountain, Ishak Pasha Palace, the meteor pit, the ice cave on Agri Mountain and Balik Golu (Fish Lake).

The district remains at the forefront with its historical and cultural elements, said Efe, noting that more tourists have begun to visit Agri Mountain, the highest mountain in Turkey.

Expressing the attraction of rumors that traces of Noah’s ark were found on Agri Mountain, Efe stated thousands of mountaineers climbed to the summit every year.

Efe also expressed that more people have especially begun to visit these beauties in Dogubayazit after the solution process, adding, “the Turkish government’s democratization package will be more effective in the development of the region. We will give the necessary assistance to those who want to invest in this region.”

The area has had a rich history with monuments dating back to the time of the Kingdom of Urartu (over 2700 years ago). Before the Ottoman Empire the site was referred to by its Armenian name, Daroynk. In the 4th century the Sasanians failed to capture the Armenian stronghold and royal treasury at Daroynk. Princes of the Bagratid dynasty of Armenia resided at Daroynk and rebuilt the fortress. It was subsequently conquered by Persians, Romans, Arabs, and Byzantines all of whom would have used the plain to rest and recoup during their passages across the mountains. Turkish peoples arrived in 1064, but were soon followed by the Mongols and further waves of Turks. The castle of Daroynk was built and rebuilt many times throughout this history, although it is now named after the Turkish warlord Celayirli Şehzade Bayazit Han who ordered one of the rebuildings (in 1374). Ultimately, the town was renamed Beyazit itself in the 16th century.

After its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in 1514 the area was ruled by Turkish generals, later including Ishakpasa, who built the palace that still bears his name.

The town saw fighting in the Turko-Persian War of 1821-1822, was attacked by Russia in 1856, and taken by the Russians during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. When the Russians retreated many of the Armenian population left with them to build New Beyazit (now Gavar at Armenia) on the shore of Lake Sevan.

Dogubeyazit was further ravaged during World War I and the Turkish War of Independence.

The widely dispersed village of Bayazit, originally an Armenian settlement, was populated by Kurds in 1930, when the Turkish army destroyed it. A new town was built in the plain below the old site in the 1930s (hence the new name “Dogubeyazıt” which literally means “East Beyazıt”).

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

Share to...