Erzurum, Turkey

Erzurum is a city in Eastern Anatolia, and is the hub for visiting eastern Turkey. Erzurum is the highest one of major cities (population: 360,000 according to 2000 census) in Turkey, situated at an altitude of about 2000 metres over the sea level. Complemented with the distance to the sea, this makes the climate of this area the harshest in Turkey with winter temperatures regularly below -30 C at nights (and no warmer than -15 C during the day). There is not a real summer season in Erzurum, only a short spring in July and August (this is also the wettest season) and a long, bitterly cold, and heavily snowy winter during the rest of the year. Keep in mind that nighttime temperatures can fall below zero degree (Celsius) in any time of the year (even in August), although this is becoming rarer and rarer each year, probably with the advance of the global warming. Forget any preconceived notion you have of a cold, austere and overwhelmingly conservative city. Sure, the climate is off-putting much of the year and the city feels much less liberal than its Mediterranean counterparts, but Erzurum is rapidly metamorphosing into a vibrant metropolis and the sizeable student population brings a refreshing touch of mod¬ernity. The ‘peoplescape' of Erzurum is absorbing in its contrasts. Patriotic, conservative men and women wearing voluminous black drapes or at least headscarves mix with young couples and stalwart soldiers. Ditch your bags on arrival and leg it straight to Cumhuriyet Caddesi, the main artery, which showcases some of the best Seljuk architecture in the country. Then sweat it up to the citadel, where you can get your bearings over the urban sprawl, with the steppe forming a heavenly backdrop.