Erzurum is one of the largest cities in Eastern Anatolia, with a population of about 363,000 in 2023, half that of Erzurum Province. It's at high altitude and has a ski resort.
Understand
[edit]Armies have to come this way between Anatolia and the Caucasus, so a series of conquerors have passed through. Those who stayed long enough to influence its architecture included the Seljuks, who first captured it in 1071 AD. They also trashed the neighbouring city of Artze, whose inhabitants fled here and called it the Roman Artze, hence Artze Rum or Erzurum. It was captured by the Ottomans in 1514 and became their military base in the east, although three times occupied by Russia as the late Ottoman empire crumbled. Support for the advancing Russians was the pretext for the 1915 genocide of the city's 40,000 Armenians.
Erzurum stands at an altitude of 1890 m and is bitter cold in winter, often below -10°C by day and -20°C at night. So agriculture is limited and the town's main activities are services, education and natural gas - a pipeline from the Caspian terminates here. Snowfall is limited as winters are dry - early summer is wettest - but whatever falls tends to linger. There are skiing and other winter sports facilities on Palandöken, the mountain just south of the city.
Get in
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By plane
[edit]1 Erzurum Airport (ERZ IATA) (15 km northwest of city center), ☏ +90 442 327 2837. Frequent flights from Istanbul (both IST and SAW), also from Izmir, Ankara and Antalya. No international flights except winter specials from Russia and Germany. A local bus may run to city centre, otherwise take a taxi. 
By train
[edit]Doğu Express runs daily from Ankara, departing at 18:00 and taking 22 hours via Kayseri, Sivas, Erzincan and Divriği. From Erzurum it continues at 16:00 to Kars, another 4 hours. The return train leaves Kars at 08:00 and Erzurum at noon to reach Ankara at 10:15 next morning. There are couchettes and a buffet but no sleeping cars. For tickets see TCDD.
A tourist version of this train runs three times a week in winter. It makes long stops for sightseeing eastbound at İliç (for Kemaliye), Erzincan and Erzurum; the westbound train calls at Erzurum around 02:00 then makes long stops at Divriği and Bostankaya. You're tied to the schedule without flexibility of stopover. The accommodation is in standard sleeping cars, which have been purloined from the conventional train, so the travel experience on that has been degraded.
A high-speed railway is under construction from Ankara towards Erzurum and Kars, and is already in service as far as Sivas. This has not reduced journey times to Erzurum, as trains east of Sivas are so chronically late that it's impractical to schedule a connection.
2 Erzurum railway station is north end of city centre. It's within walking distance of hotels and other amenities.
By bus
[edit]Buses from Istanbul run six times a day, taking 15 hours via Bolu. From Ankara is 12 hours, from Trabzon is 4 hr 30 min via Gümüşhane, and from Diyarbakır is 5 hours.
They run three times a day from Hopa on the border with Georgia, taking 7 hr 30 min via Rize and Artvin.
Bus lines on these routes include Metro Turizm, Flixbus and Yeşil Artvin Ekspres.
3 Erzurum Otogar is 10 km northwest of city centre towards the airport. Take local bus K4 or a taxi downtown.
Get around
[edit]Most sights are in walking distance. Buses and dolmuşes ply the main streets.
See
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- 1 Erzurum Castle, ☏ +90 442 213 7357. Daily 08:00-19:00. Atop the hill at the heart of the city, this was established by the Byzantines in 422 AD but what you see now is mostly Seljuk, 12th century. It includes a museum and a mosque: you can climb the 19th century Tepsi minaret / watchtower for views. The outer castle walls have disappeared. Adult 150 TL.
- 2 Twin Minaret Madrasa (Çifte Minareli Medrese), Cumhuriyet Cd 3. Tu-F & Su 09:00-18:00. Built as a madrasa - a theological school - circa 1260, it takes its name from the two fluted minarets that crown the monumental façade. It's now a museum and city symbol. Free.
- Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami), Cumhuriyet Cd (next to Twin Minaret Madrasa). This was built by Nasreddin Aslan Mehmed, Emir of Saltuk, in 1179 AD / 574 AH. It's rather plain outside and in, but an impressive space with room for 10,000 worshippers.
- Erzurum Museum, Şahinbey Sk 2 (block south of Twin Minaret Madrasa), ☏ +90 442 233 0414. Tu-Su 08:30-17:00. In a modern building, this covers natural history, and from pre-history to Byzantine times. Adult 150 TL.
- Three Tombs (Üç Kümbetler) are across the street east of the museum. They're fine structures with conical rooves: the largest is that of Emir Saltuk from late 12th century, the others' occupants are unknown but they look 14th century. Another tomb 100 m south is that of Rabia Hatun.
- Stone Mosque (Taş Cami) 200 m east of the museum was originally the Church of the Virgin Mary, but converted to a mosque in the 19th century.
- 3 Yakutiye Madrasa, Cumhuriyet Cd, ☏ +90 442 235 1964. Tu-Su 08:00-19:00. Built in 1310, this madrasa has fine stonework and is now an ethnography museum. Adult 150 TL.
- Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque next to Yakutiye Madrasa was built in 1562.
- 4 Atatürk House, Yukari Mumcu Sk, off Çaykara Cd, ☏ +90 442 234 2037. Tu-Su 08:00-17:00. 19th century merchant's house, used as the German consulate 1915/16, and later as the Governor's residence. It accommodated Atatürk for 52 days in 1919. Signage is only in Turkish. Free.
- 5 Mecidiye Fort. 2 km east of town was built during the 1877/78 war with Russia. It's just a neglected shell.
Do
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- Hamams - traditional Turkish Baths - are in a dozen central spots.
- Football: Erzurumspor FK play soccer in TFF 1. Lig, the second tier. Their Kazım Karabekir Stadium (capacity 21,300) is 2 km west of the city on the main road to Erzincan.
- 1 Palandöken Ski Center base station is 6 km south of city centre, linked by bus. Park here and take the cable car up to the ski area.
- Palandöken summit (3271 m) in summer can be reached by hiking up the dirt road from the centre.
- Canoeing: sorry, you've misunderstood, kayak in Turkish means skiing.
Buy
[edit]- Lots of small general stores, Migros are the main chain.
- Taşhan ("Stone market") is a traditional building at Ayazpaşa Cd 39. They're open daily 09:00-20:00 and specialise in Oltu stone, a local form of jet.
- Silver is no longer mined but is still worked locally into jewellery.
Eat
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- Local specialties: the climate is too high and cold for soft fruit & veg, so folk gorge upon meat at every opportunity:
- Cağ kebap is lamb on a horizontal spit, instead of the traditional vertical döner kebab.
- Kadayıf dolması is the local version of kadayıf sweet fibre pastry.
- Hacı Baba is at İsmetpaşa Cd 21, open daily 10:00-22:00.
- Gelgör serves cağ kebap at Orhan Şerifsoy Cd, the foot of the avenue from the railway station, daily 08:00-00:00.
- Güzelyurt Restaurant is at Cumhuriyet Cd 42 opposite Yakutiye Madrasa, open M-Sa 12:00-00:00.
- Muammer Usta is a dessert cafe, with one outlet at Cumhuriyet Cd 1 near the madrasa and another by the railway station.
- Hımmburger is a fast food place on Bahçe Sk off Cumhiriyet Cd, open daily 09:00-22:00.
Drink
[edit]Cafes may serve alcohol. Try along Mumcu Cd, north off Cumhuriyet Cd.
Sleep
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- Hotel Tahran at Millet Bahçe Cd 4 is the least-bad of a central cluster.
- 1 Lala Grand Hotel, Cennet Çeşme Cd 8, ☏ +90 506 610 0025. Comfy and central, mostly good reviews, but some intended guests had bookings cancelled at short notice. B&B double 2500 TL.
- 2 Grand Çatalkaya Hotel, Rüştüye Sk 3, ☏ +90 546 285 5900. Mostly good reviews, some fittings tatty. B&B double 2500 TL.
- Arı Otel, Ayazpaşa Cd 22 (block east of Grand Çatalkaya), ☏ +90 530 640 7397. Basic but clean and central, toilets are shared. Friendly and helpful staff but they can't speak English. Double (room only) 1000 TL.
- Bigg Boss Otel is on Bebendibi Sk 14 near Arı Otel. Mixed reviews.
- 3 Hilton Garden Inn, Açelya Sk 4, ☏ +90 442 232 3232. Boxy modern place west edge of city towards the airport. Comfy enough, service a bit shambolic. B&B double 3000 TL.
- 4 Polat Palandöken, Kayak Yolu Uzeri, Yunusemre, ☏ +90 442 232 0010. Smart modern hotel south on the road to the ski area. B&B double 9000 TL.
- Ramada by Wyndham on the south ring road is a false listing on Google Map, it's actually in Sivas 440 km west. Google have been aware of this since Ottoman times but have yet to correct it.
- 5 Polat Palandöken, Kayak Yolu Uzeri, Yunusemre, ☏ +90 442 232 0010. Smart modern hotel south on the road to the ski area. B&B double 9000 TL.
Connect
[edit]Erzurum and its approach roads have 4G from all Turkish carriers, though with many dead spots along the highway. As of Sep 2025, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.
Go next
[edit]- Çobandede Bridge is a 13th century structure 60 km east on the road to Kars.
- Kars had longer Russian occupation, reflected in its architecture.
- Hopa on the border with Georgia is a dreary place. Take a dolmuş to the seaside resort of Batumi to pick up onward transport to Tbilisi and Baku.
- Divriği has fine Seljuk architecture, notably its Great Mosque.
- Trabzon north of the Pontic Mountains is the main sea- and airport in eastern Turkey.
| Routes through Erzurum |
| Amasya ← Erzincan ← | W  E
|
→ Horasan (  N) → Doğubayazıt
|
| Trabzon ← Gümüşhane ← | N  S
|
→ Ends at 
|
Ends at  (W  E) ← Artvin ←
|
N  S
|
→ Bingöl (  W / E) → Diyarbakır → Mardin
|
| Ankara ← Erzincan ← | W  E
|
→ Kars → END |