Bordering Azerbaijan population: 101,700
Other names: Kaghzvan (Armenian), Qaxisman (Kurdish)
Midway between Kars and Doğubayazıt, Iğdır is an unexpectedly modern town for eastern Turkey where women without headscarves are as common as those with them, especially in the lovely tea gardens inside Haydar Aliyev Parkı, named after the late leader of neighbouring Azerbaijan.
You probably won’t need to linger in Iğdır in which case you will probably just whip past Dörtyol (Crossroads), a part of town with several cheapish hotels. If you do need to stop, the Anıt Müzesi (Memorial Museum) is an eye-popping monument in the shape of four silver swords pointing up at the sky that recounts the Turkish take on the Armenian story with lots of photographs of mutilated bodies exhumed from mass graves discovered locally. Sad though that is, the museum is a crude piece of one-sided propaganda within sight of Ağrı Dağı (Mt Ararat), the mountain that is sacred to the Armenians.
In 2007 Greenpeace placed a wooden ark in the park beside the monument as a reminder of the need to take action against climate change. Needless to say, it’s locked and covered in graffiti, and the park is completely overgrown.
The museum is within sight and walking distance of the Iğdır Turizm Otobüs Terminalı.
As you leave town heading for Kağızman watch out for a statue of two storks, a symbol of Iğdır.
Sleeping
Hotel Dedemin
In a great location near the park and popular with the business fraternity which means that it’s often full.
Gençler Sokak No. 33, Tel: 0476-227 3920
Hotel Olimpia
Close to Dörtyol and so convenient for onward travel, this pleasant hotel offers spacious rooms with decent bathrooms, and a satisfying if unexceptional breakfast.
Evrenpaşa Caddesi No. 4, Tel: 0476-227 1866
Hotel Alkış
Close to Dörtyol and so convenient for onward travel, this cheap hotel is reasonably comfortable and offers an average breakfast but asks for money in advance which never makes for a great welcome.
Evrenpasa Caddesi No. 32, Tel: 0476-227 1568
Hotel Gold Yıldırım
The best hotel in town is in a good location near the park and popular with businessmen so often full mid-week.
Haydar Aliyev Parkı Karşısı (opposite the park), Tel: 0476-227 0227
Eating
Iranlılar Saray Lokantası This is one of the country’s most unexpected restaurants where you can try the Turkish take on the Iranian cafe staple abgusht. Here it’s called bozbaşı but the ritual’s the same. You’re served with a mug containing stew. Strips of flat lavaş bread are then torn up and placed in a bowl before the liquid from the mug is poured over them. While you eat this thickened soup, the meat, potatoes, chickpeas and lamb fat from the stew are pounded down in a mortar. Then this is dished up as a second course. İrfan Caddesi No. 13, Tel: 0476-227 8169
Transport info
Dolmuşes to Kars and Kağızman leave from the Dörtyol junction, those for Doğubayazıt from a small terminal nearby.
Day trip destinations
The Road from Iğdır to Kağızman The drive from Iğdır to Kağızman follows a stunning road that passes through Tuzluca, a salt-mining centre both in the past and today; look up at the rockface for square openings which indicate old mines. There’s no reason to linger there although the odd derelict stone building from the days of the Russian occupation survives around Cumhuriyet Meydanı. Past Tuzluca the scenery grows ever more dramatic with mountains soaring on both sides of the road, some of them craggy-topped and alpine in appearance. Midway between Tuzluca and Kağızman the Karakurt Dam has inevitably damaged the landscape quality.
