Doğubayazıt (Kurdish: Bazîd) is a town in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. In the extreme east of the country and right next to the Turkish-Iranian border, it is the primary gateway of Turkey to the east, and of Iran to the west. It also has a variety of attractions worth stopping by for, including the splendid 17th-century Ishak Pasha Palace and Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest, but better known in the West for its association with Noah's Ark.
Understand
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Like many places in the east of Turkey, mostly Kurds live here.
After a brief Kurdish rebellion in the area was suppressed in 1930, the old town was destroyed, and the town was rebuilt in its current location, lower and flatter than the previous site and therefore much easier to keep under control. It was also renamed from Beyazıt to Doğubayazıt, "eastern Bayazıt" around this time, to avoid postage destined for the Beyazıt quarter of Istanbul's Old City ending up in the wrong place and vice versa. Apparently this was too mouthful, or simply too hard to remember for the hippies who were often as high as Ararat while streaming past the town on their way to India back in the day, so they just dubbed it "Doggy Biscuit".
Get in
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By plane
[edit]The nearest airports are Iğdır Şehit Bülent Aydın (IGD IATA) 70 km north, and Ağrı Ahmed-i Hani (AJI IATA) 100 km west. Both have daily flights from Istanbul IST (taking 2 hr 10 min) and Ankara, and several days a week from Istanbul SAW and Izmir. Their low footfall means limited facilities, so car rental needs to be booked ahead.
By bus
[edit]Kamil Koç, now part of Flixbus, runs once a day from Istanbul, taking 23 hours via Erzincan, Erzurum and Ağrı.
From Trabzon or Van, change at Ağrı. From Ankara or Kars, change at Iğdır.
1 Doğubayazıt new bus station is 3 km northwest of city centre along D100. It's modern and spacious but shambolic.
Google Map still directs you to the old downtown Otogar but it's closed. Dolmuşes to Iğdır, Van and the Iranian border used to start from various points near the D100 / D975 junction, to avoid downtown congestion. They now depart from the streets alongside the new station but you might have to ask around to find yours. Most depart morning, don't leave it to afternoon.
By road
[edit]Highway D100 / E80 runs the entire width of Turkey from Edirne on the border with Bulgaria all the way east through Istanbul to Erzincan, Erzurum, Ağrı and Doğubayazıt. It's dual carriageway throughout and nowadays swings 1 km north of town centre, with Ağrı Cd following its former route. It continues 35 km to the border with Iran at Gürbulak / Bazargan: you must have your documents sorted in advance, there are no visa facilities nearer than Ankara. From there Highway 2 / 32 heads west across Iran to Maku, Tabriz and Tehran.
Istanbul to Doğubayazıt is 1500 km, reckon two days; the buses do it in one but change drivers.
D975 from Van climbs over Tendürek Pass at 2600 m, so expect rough driving in winter. It continues north to Iğdır, where you either branch northwest on D080 to Kars, or east for Aras Bridge border crossing with Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan. Likewise for this you must have your documents sorted in advance. There is no road between Nakhchivan and the rest of Azerbaijan.
Get around
[edit]The town's main attraction Eski Bayezıd is 3 km east up a paved road. You could walk it on a cool day, but a dolmuş runs every 30 min from the foot of İshak Paşa Sk downtown. Or take a taxi, and ask him to wait one hour.
See
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- Town centre is as bland and ticky-tacky as can be. Ahmed-i Hani Mosque, north on İnegöl Cd, is in handsome Ottoman style but was only built in 1975.
- 1 İshak Paşa Palace, ☏ +90 472 280 1700. Tu-Su 09:00-17:00. Looming high over the town, this fortified complex was begun in 1685 but is named for the fellow who completed it in 1784: pashas were hereditary governors. It was damaged by the earthquake when Ararat erupted in 1840 but eventually restored, and used as a fort until 1937. The style is a unique blend of Turkish, Persian, and Armenian. Adult 70 TL.
- Eski Beyazıt Mosque 200 m east of the palace is 16th century.
- Dogubayazit Castle is on the crag east, looking down on the place. It was first built in Urartu times but has been patched up by later occupants. Scramble up if you're feeling fit.
- Tomb of Ehmedê Xanî is 200 m east of the mosque, an attractive multi-domed structure. Xanî or Ahmad-e Khani (1650-1707) was a Kurdish writer and proto-nationalist, best known for his romantic novel Mem and Zin.
Further out
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- "And on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat."
- - Genesis 8: 4
- 2 Mount Ararat rises prominently 25 km northeast of town, close to the borders of Armenia, Iran and Nakhchivan-Azerbaijan. It's a stratovolcano with its main peak at 5137 m / 16,854 ft, the highest peak in Turkey, but shrinking as its ice cap melts. It was thrown up some 6 million years ago when the Arabian peninsula collided with Laurasia, and is still active: the last eruption in 1840 may have claimed 10,000 lives. It's known in Turkish as Ağrı Dağı - Mount Ağrı - but this and the name "Ararat" only came into use from the Middle Ages, perhaps through a bid to associate it with the Bible legend. (Genesis is probably describing a flood in the wetlands of the Tigris-Euphrates, where people traditionally lived on house-rafts with their livestock, and had to cut adrift as the waters rose.) See below for climbing practicalities.
- Little Ararat (Küçükağrı Dağı) at 3896 m is 10 km east at the end of the massif, rather hidden from view from Doğubayazıt by the main peak. The classic view of the twin peaks is from the other side of the border near Yerevan, but you don't tell the Turks that. For Armenians it's a national symbol, though none of it is now within their territory.
- 3 Ice Cave (Buz Mağarası) (28 km southeast; northeast of the village of Halaç on the southern foothills of Little Ararat). This is a cave with dripstones and multi-coloured ice, about 100 m (330 ft) long from its entrance on a cliff face, half as wide, and with an elevation difference of 8 m (26 ft) within. It hasn't been explored in detail and visiting may require prior caving experience. It is thought to be a part of the same lava tube system with the Meteor Crater below.
- 4 Durupınar site is a rock formation exposed by erosion in 1948, and named for the army pilot who took aerial photos and drew it to attention. Since then it has exerted a cosmic magnetism for dingbats claiming it to be the petrified remains of Noah's Ark. Follow D100 towards the Iranian border and turn off at the sign for Noah's Ark / Nuh'un Gemisi. The paved lane brings you to the visitor centre (daily 09:00-17:00) where you gaze across the valley at the formation, which could almost resemble the outline of a boat 164 m / 300 cubits long. You can hike across the valley for a closer look.
- 5 Meteor Crater (Meteor Çukuru) (38 km southeast; head northeast from the last turn-off on the highway before the border). A hollow 35 m (115 ft) wide and 60 m (200 ft) deep with a lake in its bottom, formed in 1892 by a meteoroid impact.
- 6 Sağlıksuyu (15 km northwest, off D975/E99 towards Iğdır; no signpost at the turn-off as of Aug 2022). Formerly the Armenian village of Ardzap (Արծափ), the ancient cemetery here retains some weathered and overturned khachkars, elaborately carved traditional Armenian headstones. Some of the larger and more crudely hewn khachkars here have been taken for the anchors of Noah's Ark – but hey, Durupınar is just 29 km away as the dove flies, or less than 16 nautical miles.
- 7 Balık Gölü (62 km northwest; turn off from D100 towards Ağrı at the signpost). A largish freshwater lake in a lava bed; a low-key resort for the locals.
Do
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- Climb Mount Ararat. Guides and vehicles are available in Doğubayazıt. The climb is long, but there is a fairly easy route from the south in late summer for climbers who are familiar with the use of axe and crampons. The glacier begins around 4,800 m (15,700 ft), so the last 400 m (¼ mile) is snow-covered year-round. International climbers need a climbing permit that can be obtained through Turkish embassies, or the easier option is to let your guide's company do it. Expect the authorities to process your permit application in two months. You also need a licensed guide to accompany you on the trek. There are two possible campsites on the mountain, and people most often attempt to climb up to the summit and return to Doğubayazıt in 4 days. However, you may need more time to acclimatise, so it can be wise to add an extra day.
- As part of your acclimatisation, you may also want to climb other mountains in the region, such as Mt Süphan to the south on the rim of Lake Van.
Buy
[edit]Liquor stores (Tekel) along the eastward lane of the highway bypass offer the last legal pints before Iran. Apparently this is a lucrative business: there are several of these shops, and they seem to be well-stocked. One thing to consider is how you will bring your drinks across the border; it's risky in your luggage, and tipsy already in your system.
Eat
[edit]Try to get a rare abdigor köfte, the local delicacy. It is a fist-size meatball on rice.
- 1 Diyarbakir Dagkapi Cigercisi. Is good, with generous portions and very reasonable price. Atmosphere is also nice. A good choice in the main street. Their specialty is the liver but you can choose something else and it will be good as well.
- Yöresel Yemek Evi (formerly Doguş Restaurant) is not bad, but is overpriced and often crammed with tour groups.
Drink
[edit]- Cafe shop on Kermelsi Rd. in the centre of Doğubayazıt
- Pure fruit juice shop, makes nice pure juice! Istanplak Avenue in eastern Doğubayazıt
Sleep
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- Grand Derya Hotel, İnegöl Cd 26, ☏ +90 472 312 7531. Management got a grip in 2025, so it's still a run-down basic hotel but is now kept clean and has a/c.
- 1 Hotel Erzurum, Meryem Ana Cd 26, ☏ +90 472 312 0474. Basic but central.
- 2 Hotel Ararat, Belediye Cd 16, ☏ +90 472 312 4988. Clean and comfy with views of the mountain.
- Doğuş Hotel next door at Belediye Cd 100 also gets good reviews.
- 3 Hotel Tehran, Büyük Ağrı Cd 124, ☏ +90 472 312 0195, [email protected]. Smart, clean and central. They'll do laundry and store stuff. B&B double 3000 TL.
- Hotel Kenan is basic but clean, at İsa Geçit Cd 21.
- 4 Butic Ertur Hotel, Cevre Yolu Blv 545, ☏ +90 472 312 7866. Smallish but clean rooms.
- Grand Ağa Hotel, Taşkın Sk 386, off Cevre Yolu Blv (200 m west of Atlihan Plus), ☏ +90 472 312 7788. Very mixed reviews for this place on the main highway.
- 5 Atlihan Plus, Cevre Yolu Blv 343, ☏ +90 472 312 1991. Clean, comfy, welcoming and family-friendly. B&B double 3000 TL.
Connect
[edit]As of Nov 2025, town centre has 4G from all Turkish carriers but there's no signal on the approach roads. 5G has not yet rolled out in Turkey.
Go next
[edit]- Van to the south is the hub for the Lake Van area with amazing ancient castles and medieval monasteries.
- Iran is right around the corner to the east. Maku is its first significant town.
- Iğdır to the north has transportation options into the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan.
- Kars further to the north has a beautiful Russian-built old town and the striking Armenian ruins of Ani in its vicinity.
- Erzurum to the west is the largest city in eastern Turkey where you will likely pass through to travel anywhere else in the country.
| Routes through Doğubayazıt |
Erzurum ← Horasan (  N) ←
|
W  E
|
→  Gürbulak/Bazargan → Becomes   → Maku 
|
Ends at  in  Dəmirçi ( N  S) ← Dilucu/Sədərək ←
|
N  S
|
→ Tatvan → Diyarbakır |
Merges with  ←
|
N  S
|
→ Van → Hakkari |