Turkey · Eastern Anatolia · Travel guide
What a ski holiday in Palandöken costs compared with the Alps, which Seljuk buildings you have to see and why the cağ kebab is different here.
Photo: Kader Azra Namuslu / Pexels
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Estimates for orientation, not booking prices. Flights and hotels vary strongly by season: current prices are behind the links below.
Money & payment: You pay in Turkish lira (TRY). The exchange rate moves a lot, which is why all prices here are given in francs and euros. Cards are accepted almost everywhere; you need cash for the dolmuş, markets and tips. Flight time: 3 to 4 hours.
Nine options in three price ranges, each among the best-rated on Booking.com.
Budget
A simple, central city hotel within walking distance of the Seljuk madrasas and the cağ kebab restaurants of the inner city. Rooms are plain but heated and clean, breakfast is solid and the staff are helpful with questions about buses and taxis. A dependable night for train travellers and road-trippers on a small budget.
A small city hotel on Cumhuriyet Caddesi with clean, modern rooms that scores well on Booking for location and price. Everything important is outside the door, and the old town with the madrasas is five minutes on foot. No luxury, but warm, friendly and very decent for the price.
A long-established hotel right in the centre with simple, spacious rooms and a restaurant serving home cooking in the evening. Not modern, but central and inexpensive, with staff who know the bus connections to Kars and Van and help with buying tickets. A good base for exploring the old town on foot.
Mid-range
A four-star city hotel with well-equipped rooms, hammam, sauna and restaurant, the best choice in the city itself in summer. Close to the old town, shuttle to Palandöken on request, parking available. Solid breakfast, staff with some English and reliable heating in winter, which is what counts in Erzurum.
One of the older ski hotels right on the slopes in Palandöken, with indoor pool, hammam and a restaurant with half board. The rooms are simpler than in the big resorts, but the price for ski-in ski-out is unbeatable. Popular with Turkish families at weekends.
The smaller sister of the Dedeman resort, at 2,500 metres right on the piste. Alpine style with wood, fireplace and ski room, hammam and sauna included. For pure skiers the best location in the area, because the lifts start outside the door. Half board recommended.
Luxury
The classic ski resort of Palandöken with ski-in ski-out, indoor pool, spa, hammam, several restaurants and a bar serving alcohol. Rooms with views of the slopes or down over the city, half board with a large buffet, ski hire in the building. By Swiss standards upper mid-range at half the price of the Alps.
A five-star resort right on the slopes in Palandöken with hotel rooms and separate bungalows for families, indoor pool, spa, hammam and several restaurants. Ski-in ski-out, its own ski hire and ski school in the building, half board the norm. Solidly rated on Tripadvisor, less well known than Dedeman, but newer and with more space. Prices swing sharply with the season, so book early for January and February.
A large resort at the foot of the ski area, formerly known under the Renaissance name, with indoor pool, spa, gym, several restaurants and a bar. Rooms are modern and spacious, and the lifts are right outside. In summer a quiet alternative to the city with views over the plateau.
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The largest ski area in Turkey right on the edge of town, pistes up to 3,100 metres, powder snow from December to April. Day pass around CHF 20 to 25, hire on site, hotels on the slopes.
The 13th-century landmark of Erzurum: richly decorated portal, two fluted minarets, a courtyard with study cells on two storeys. Behind it the three conical tomb towers of the Üç Kümbetler. Low entrance fee, one hour is enough.
The madrasa of 1310 is today a well-made museum of Turkish and Islamic art, and the 12th-century Great Mosque impresses with its forest of wooden columns. Both lie on Cumhuriyet Caddesi and can be visited in an hour.
Lamb from the horizontal charcoal spit, ordered by the number of skewers at around CHF 1.50 to 2 each, with bread, onions and ayran. At lunchtime in the cağ kebab salons of the centre, followed by kadayıf dolması for dessert. In the evening the meat is often gone.
A 48-metre waterfall around 100 km north at the end of Lake Tortum, at its mightiest in spring during the snowmelt and tamer in late summer. A day trip by rental car or on a tour from around CHF 25, easily combined with the Georgian churches in the valley.
10th-century monastery churches in remote villages in the Tortum valley, visited by hardly anyone, partly used as mosques, partly in ruins. For history lovers the quietest experience in the region, sensibly reachable only by rental car or tour.
A small citadel above the old town with a clock tower and the best view over the city, the plateau and the white peaks of Palandöken. A short climb from the centre, low entrance fee, ideal at sunset after the walk through the madrasas.
The black gemstone Oltu taşı is mined only in this region and worked into prayer beads, rings and earrings in the covered Rüstem Paşa Bedesteni market. A cheap, genuine souvenir you will not find anywhere else; a little haggling is part of it.
The Erzurum to Kars section takes around five hours and is cheap; the train arrives from Ankara in the late morning. Ideal for combining Erzurum and Kars in one trip.
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Erzurum is meat, butter and mountain air: cağ kebab, the forerunner of the döner, was invented here, and the desserts are as sweet as the winters are cold. The city is conservative, eats early and drinks tea instead of wine.
Lamb marinated for a day in onions and salt, cooked on a horizontal spit over charcoal; it is sliced off in pieces onto small skewers and served with lavaş, onions and peppers. CHF 1.50 to 2 (about EUR 1.60 to 2.20) per skewer, five or six fill you up.
Tip:Go at lunchtime, many salons close in the early evening once the meat runs out; order by skewer, not by portion.
A whole walnut wrapped in shredded pastry, deep-fried and bathed in syrup; crisp, sticky, very sweet. CHF 1.50 to 2.50 (about EUR 1.60 to 2.70) apiece.
Tip:It arrives almost automatically after the cağ kebab, and one is enough.
Börek made from pastry sheets that are boiled first, then layered with cheese and parsley and baked in plenty of butter; soft like a lasagne. CHF 3 to 4 (about EUR 3.20 to 4.30) per piece.
Tip:For breakfast with tea, warm from the tray in the morning.
String cheese from Erzurum, salty and fibrous; as göğermiş it is also green-moulded and then as sharp as a blue cheese. For breakfast or to take home, CHF 6 to 10 (about EUR 6.50 to 11) per kilo.
Tip:Göğermiş is an acquired taste, try before you buy.
White beans from the mountain village of İspir, buttery soft and the best in Turkey; as a stew with rice and pickles it makes a lunch for CHF 3 to 5 (about EUR 3.20 to 5.40).
Tip:A kilo of dried İspir beans is a souvenir that survives the journey.
Cold yoghurt soup with barley, chickpeas and mint, the summer classic; tangy and refreshing. CHF 2 to 3 (about EUR 2.20 to 3.20).
Tip:In winter you get soups with bulgur and lots of butter instead.
Tea served without sugar in the glass, but with a hard sugar cube held between your teeth that you sip the tea through; this is how Erzurum drinks. A glass costs about CHF 0.30 (about EUR 0.30).
Tip:One sugar cube is supposed to last several glasses, that is the sport of it.
Erzurum lies at 1,900 metres on a wide plateau, which makes it the highest major city in Turkey. For centuries the city was the key between Anatolia, the Caucasus and Persia: whoever held Erzurum controlled the caravan routes to the east. The Byzantines called it Theodosiopolis; the Arabs and Seljuks turned that into Arz-ı Rum, the land of the Romans. The buildings that still define Erzurum date from the Seljuk golden age in the 12th and 13th centuries: the Çifte Minareli Medrese with its two fluted minarets, the Yakutiye Medrese and the conical tomb towers of the Üç Kümbetler. Russian troops captured the city three times in the 19th and 20th centuries; in the First World War Erzurum was a fortress and front-line city. In 1919 the congress took place here at which Mustafa Kemal laid the foundations of the Turkish independence movement, which is why the city holds a special place in the national memory. Erzurum is considered conservative, religious and proud. Since the 2011 Winter Universiade its local mountain Palandöken has been the largest ski area in the country, and the Doğu Ekspresi train stops here on its way to Kars.
The Palandöken ski area starts around 10 minutes from the city centre and extends from 2,200 to 3,100 metres. The runs are long, wide and almost always empty, and the snow is powdery from December to April thanks to the dry mountain air. Around 40 km of pistes are not the Alps, but they are easily enough for a week, especially as the upper runs are demanding. A day pass costs around CHF 20 to 25 (about EUR 21 to 27), hiring skis, boots and poles around CHF 15 to 20 per day, and a private instructor for two hours from CHF 40. The hotels stand right on the slopes, so you ski to the door. What is missing: après-ski in the Alpine sense. The hotel bars serve alcohol; in the city that is rare. The best time is January to March; in December the snow cover is often still thin, but the hotels are cheaper. At weekends guests come from Istanbul and Ankara; during the week you have the lifts to yourself.
Erzurum gave the döner a predecessor: cağ kebab, where lamb is grilled on a horizontal spit over charcoal and then cut off in chunks onto small skewers. You order by the number of skewers; one skewer costs around CHF 1.50 to 2 (about EUR 1.60 to 2.15), and with bread, onions and ayran you are full after five or six. The restaurants are called Cağ Kebap Salonu and cluster close together in the centre; Koç Cağ Kebap and Gel-Gör are among the best known, and the ranking is a matter of taste. It is eaten at lunchtime, and many places close in the early evening once the meat runs out. The second speciality is kadayıf dolması, a walnut wrapped in shredded pastry and soaked in syrup, which comes as dessert with every meal. The city is dry in the literal sense: restaurants without alcohol, no bars; if you want a beer, you will find it in the Palandöken hotels.
The historic buildings all lie on or near Cumhuriyet Caddesi and can be walked in an afternoon. Start at the 13th-century Çifte Minareli Medrese with its richly decorated portal and the two fluted minarets, the city's landmark; the courtyard with its two storeys of cells is free or costs very little. Behind it stand the Üç Kümbetler, three conical tomb towers that look like rockets. Continue to the Yakutiye Medrese of 1310, today a well-made museum of Turkish and Islamic art, and to the 12th-century Ulu Camii with its forest of wooden columns. The castle above offers a view of the city, the plateau and the white peaks of Palandöken. Allow two to three hours for everything and a few francs in entrance fees. The Rüstem Paşa Bedesteni is the old covered market where traders sell the black gemstone Oltu taşı.
Erzurum lies at 1,900 metres and the ski area reaches above 3,000. Most people do not feel the altitude, but take it slowly on the first day, drink plenty and go easy on the alcohol, if your hotel serves any. In winter the temperature in the city is often minus 10 to minus 20 degrees, and with wind it feels colder. Dress as you would for the Alps in January: down jacket, hat, gloves, sturdy shoes with good grip, because the pavements are icy. In summer the days are a pleasant 25 degrees and the nights cool, so a jacket always belongs in your luggage. What surprises travellers: the dry air. Lip balm and moisturiser are not vanity. And one more thing: Erzurum is a religious city. Shorts and spaghetti straps are not forbidden, but you will stand out; if you adapt a little, you will be rewarded with remarkable warmth.
North of Erzurum the landscape changes abruptly: the barren plateau gives way to deep green valleys that run towards the Black Sea and Georgia. The Tortum waterfall lies around 100 km north at the end of Lake Tortum and plunges 48 metres, with great force in spring during the snowmelt and considerably tamer in late summer. On the way there are 10th-century Georgian churches, Öşkvank and Haho, in remote villages that hardly anyone visits. With a rental car this is a long, rewarding day; without a car, travel agencies in Erzurum offer day tours in summer for around CHF 25 to 35 (about EUR 27 to 37). If you want to go further north: the road to Artvin takes you to the Kaçkar mountains and the Black Sea coast, one of the most beautiful routes in the country. In winter all of this is only partly feasible, as the passes are often closed.
Erzurum is where many people break the Doğu Ekspresi journey: the train from Ankara arrives in the late morning and the next one continues to Kars the following day. That fits perfectly for an afternoon in the old town and a cağ kebab. The station lies on the northern edge of the centre, 15 minutes on foot from Cumhuriyet Caddesi. For a road trip through Eastern Anatolia, Erzurum is the logical starting point: fly in via Istanbul, then train or rental car to Kars (200 km), on via Iğdır to Doğubayazıt (250 km), then to Van (170 km) and fly home from Van. That way you see the four most important places in the east in eight to ten days without backtracking. One-way rentals between Erzurum and Van are possible with the big providers, but with a surcharge of around CHF 50 to 100 (about EUR 54 to 107); weigh that against bus journeys, which cost CHF 8 to 15 between each pair of cities.
One day is enough for the city alone. For a ski holiday in Palandöken, five to seven days make sense, with one day for the old town. In summer two days work well: one for Erzurum, one for the Tortum waterfall and the Georgian churches.
For skiing January to March, when the snow is most reliable. For the city and excursions June to September with 20 to 28 degrees by day. April and May are changeable with leftover snow and mud; October is already cold, but clear and beautiful.
With Turkish Airlines or Pegasus via Istanbul to Erzurum (ERZ), several flights a day, total travel time from Zurich around eight to nine hours. The airport is 15 km from the city and about 25 minutes from the Palandöken hotels; ski hotels offer transfers, and taxis cost around CHF 10 to 15 (about EUR 11 to 16).
Yes. Erzurum is a large, quiet university city where travellers are rare and are welcomed all the more warmly. The usual precautions are enough. The city is conservative: alcohol is practically only available in the Palandöken hotels, and modest clothing makes many things easier. Foreign ministries generally have no special advice for Erzurum province.
For a week of powder without queues at a third of the price: yes. Expect around CHF 1,200 to 1,500 (about EUR 1,280 to 1,600) per person for seven days including ski pass, hire, hotel with half board and flights. What is missing: variety of pistes, mountain hut culture and après-ski. If you want those, stay in the Alps; if you just want to ski, you are in good hands here.
In the city practically not; restaurants and cafés do not serve it, and shops selling alcohol are rare. The hotels in Palandöken have bars with beer, wine and rakı at hotel prices. If you know this in advance, you will not be disappointed. The alternative is tea, and Erzurum has plenty of that.
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