Day 28 - Don Curry turns back

Don Curry reached the easternmost point of his journey with Ani yesterday. From now on, there was only one direction: west. The return was initiated and the long journey home began.

Don Curry did not find it difficult to leave Kars. He enjoyed one last breakfast buffet, then carried his own suitcase from the 3rd floor down because this historic hotel does not have an elevator, and eagerly went outside. The snow had completely melted, but the sky remained gray; at least it wasn't raining at the moment. Don Curry realized that despite his two nights in Kars, he had never seen it in sunlight.

He started at 2 °C. It could only get better. Today's day should offer a few Georgian churches, but above all magnificent mountain landscapes in northeastern Anatolia. Don Curry had to conquer several passes, partly in dense fog, partly through completely snowy landscapes.

His first destination, the ruins of the Cathedral of Bana, could not be reached by car, as Don Curry noticed on site. Completely lonely, it lay on a hill amidst colorful rock formations. On a bad dirt road, he came at least within 3 km of it and then contented himself with photos from a distance.

Finding the church of Ishan was even more difficult. On the main road, Don Curry saw a sign for 'Ishan', but no village, only a new development area high up on the right side. Google Maps clearly located the church in the village of Ishan up in the mountains on the left side, 5 km further. Don Curry daringly drove up a narrow muddy track on a mountainside until he reached the village. No sign of a church. Don Curry went uphill into the village until he met a boy. He asked him in Turkish about the church. Immediately, the boy made it clear that there was no church here and explained to Don Curry in detail how to get there. Unfortunately, this Turkish torrent of words far exceeded his rudimentary knowledge. Other children quickly joined the boy and at least showed Don Curry the direction: back down and then towards Kars. Don Curry asked: 'Kilometers?' and then showed different fingers up in turn. The boy understood and eagerly showed 5 fingers. Don Curry thanked them for their help and drove back down the terrible muddy track. Behind him, the children called out 'Good morning!' Suddenly, they discovered their knowledge of English... When Don Curry had driven back 5 kilometers towards Kars, there was even a large sign pointing to the church from that direction: 7 km. It was an even more muddy track uphill, which took him directly to the new development area. The houses were not yet completed; Don Curry suspected that the entire village of Ishan was to be resettled here. Far above the new development area, the new main road was already being built, which would no longer follow the winding course of the river valley but would pass straight through the mountains with tunnels and bridges. You could already see a side road to the new Ishan, presumably the church would also be accessible via this new road. At the moment, however, Don Curry would have had to somehow fight his way through the construction site, on a track that had been ruined by heavy construction vehicles. He gave up the attempt and turned back into the valley. He would not reach this church either.

At the next destination, there were no difficulties in accessing it. On the contrary, the Tortum waterfall shone with an excellent tourist infrastructure from the parking attendant to the restaurant. In addition, the entire waterfall was surrounded by paths and lookout platforms, so that it could be experienced from almost all perspectives.

After this positive experience, Don Curry was looking forward to his next Georgian church, the monastery of Ösvank. On surprisingly good roads, he was actually able to drive all the way to the church, which he had already seen from afar. As an almost monumental building, it towered above all the houses in the village. Don Curry admired the well-preserved reliefs on the facade, but also saw through a window that the church interior was completely covered with scaffolding, making it impossible to enter.

The significantly smaller church of Haho, which had been well preserved mainly because it served as a village mosque, showed itself in an even better condition. Unfortunately, Don Curry also found this church mosque locked.

When Don Curry arrived in Erzurum, the capital of Eastern Anatolia, in the evening, it was pouring rain. He laboriously searched for and found a parking spot near the Otels Zade, checked into his very stylish room, and set off for the bustling city center. The guidebooks particularly recommended the venerable restaurant Güzelyurt, but it looked so inconspicuous and dark from the outside that Don Curry assumed it was closed just like his Georgian churches. Nevertheless, he cautiously pulled the door handle - and could enter. Probably little had changed in the interior of the nearly 100-year-old inn: there were tables and chairs and a few cinnamon plants, but no other decorations. Everything looked reserved and elegant, even the waiters in their livery. First, a mezze cart was pushed in front of Don Curry so that he could choose not only from the menu but also based on the visual impression. In addition, the waiter explained each individual appetizer in good English. Don Curry chose a spicy yogurt cream with chili and olive oil, as well as a type of trifle made of fried eggplants, yogurt, and tomato sauce as a topping; for the main course, he chose two Adana kebabs (which he had missed in Adana) and two pieces of breaded cheese; the main course consisted of a chicken skewer with rice and potatoes - all highly recommended and well-seasoned for Turkish standards. Together with an Efes beer and a tea, Don Curry paid 15 €.

After an extensive walk past the most important sights, he enjoyed the nighttime city after the rain. The thermometer showed 6 °C. On this subject as well, Don Curry could expect a turnaround. It finally got warmer.