Seventeen kilometres north-east of Ardanuç in northeastern Turkey you can visit the pretty village of Bulanık which boasts some lovely log cabins that are only lived in in winter – in summer the villagers migrate to the yayla (upland pastures).
Four km beyond the village is Yeni Rabat (Shatberdi) and the ruins of a 10th-century Georgian church that was once the centre of a monastic complex famous for the production of illuminated manuscripts. The church sits on a verdant plateau, quite undisturbed by development. It appears to have been used for services until the 1910s.
Transport info
Without your own car you will need to hire a taxi in Ardanuç to get to Yeni Rabat. It can be combined with a trip to Aydınköy although they are not in the same direction.
