The road from Yusufeli to İşhan, near Olur in the northeastern corner of the country, must surely be one of Turkey’s most spectacular.
It may sound more like something out of Chinese history than anything to do with Turkey, but this part of the country was once the center of the Georgian principality of Tao-Klajeti, founded in 813 by Prince Ashot I who recognized the Byzantine emperor as his overlord but used his effective independence to drive Arab invaders out of the area. Despite the twists and turns of its complicated history, Tao-Klajeti became a center of Georgian art and culture, its churches of astonishing size and splendor, and with architectural details that some believe were carried to Europe by the Crusaders to form the cornerstones of the Gothic style. It was as late as 1551 when the Ottomans were able to occupy the area, whereupon many of the churches were converted into mosques.
That İshan church was turned into a mosque probably helped to preserve it, although today it stands abandoned, its dome perched precariously over open space. There are many things to marvel at here: the unexpected internal colonnade at the east end, each little column topped with a capital of different design; the frescoed cross with angels flying around it tucked up inside the dome and the fading frescoes above the windows and in the drum of the dome. Right beside the enormous church is a tiny chapel with an inscription in Georgian over the door that names King Bagrat III (960-1014), who created a united Georgian kingdom including Abkhazia, as its founder.
İşhan is far from the only splendid Georgian church to survive from this era, and if you’re driving around northern Turkey you can have great fun exploring the valleys that conceal the best of them. Indeed, the truth is that the churches provide a convenient excuse for exploring a part of the country whose scenery — wild, dramatic and romantic — is unhappily threatened by big dam projects. Go soon, before any more of it is lost.
Dörtkilise
If you want to explore the Georgian valleys the best bet for doing so remains the drab small town of Yusufeli, through which the Çoruh river cuts a noisy path. From here the closest church is in the pinprick settlement of Dörtkilise, approached via Tekkale where a castle-and-church combo perches almost unbelievably on top of a plug of rock. A sharp right at Tekkale and then a long, roughish drive will bring you eventually to the church which sits above a meadow watered by several streams and policed on occasion by the sort of bull who might well end up participating in the bull-fights that are a feature of festivals in this part of the world (no bulls are killed in them, you will be relieved to learn).
Dörtkilise lacks the lovely dome of İşhan and is in a worse state of repair, although bands of fresco can still be seen running round the sanctuary while the outer walls are patterned with blind arcading. An inscription suggests that the church was built in 1031 and formed part of a monastic complex, now mostly lost. Its name is something of an enigma since no one can clearly identify four churches (“dört kilise”) in the area.
Barhal
The village of Barhal is a little bigger than Dörtkilise, which is not saying much. Most people stay here as a base for trekking in the Western Kaçkars, but there is also a church that looks very like the one at Dörtkilise here, right next door to the Karahan Pension, whose owners keep the key. This church was used as a mosque until very recently, which means that it’s structurally intact, if a little leaky. The fixtures and fittings of a mosque remain inside it, although now that it’s no longer used it has a somewhat ramshackle air about it. Externally, it’s covered with the same blind arcading as Dörtkilise, although you may be more struck by the red-painted inscription in Georgian on one side that was apparently added in the 19th century.
Öşkvank (Çamlıyamaç)
Further down the main road that runs from Artvin and Yusufeli to Erzurum, a turning on the right, just north of Uzundere, leads to the modern village of Çamlıyamaç, which centers on the remains of the cathedral-like church of Öşkvank, built c. 973. Its setting may not match up to İşhan’s, but Öşkvank has the edge when it comes to the sheer splendor of its design, and the cathedral at Kutaisi, a world heritage site in modern Georgia, is thought to have been inspired by it.
As at İşhan, the church at Öşkvank is topped off with a glittering tiled dome, but you’ll be at least as struck by the wonderful carvings on its facade. Angels fly above the porch and support the roof on their stone wings. Figures of donors hold up models of the church, like the mosaic figures in İstanbul’s Hagia Sophia. There are even vines running up and down the sides of the porch. An extension of the church resembles a Romanesque cloister with elaborately carved capitals.
Haho (Bağbaşı)
South of Uzundere another turning on the right winds through the village of Pehlivanlı to fetch up in Bağbaşı, where the last of the Georgian churches can be found in a walled enclosure that it shares with a chapel. Built at about the same time as its Öşkvank cousin, this church is still in use as a mosque; if you arrive to find it locked someone will probably be able to direct you to the keyholding imam.
Like İşhan and Öşkvank, Haho retains its fine tiled dome, inside which a fresco of a jeweled cross can still be seen. Like Barhal and Öşkvank, it features red stripes around some of its exterior windows, while there are still some fine carvings to be found both on the interior and exterior. But the greatest treasure of Haho is no longer to be seen here but in the Art Museum of Georgia in Tbilisi (Tflis). Created in the 12th century, the Triptych of Khakhuli survives as a reminder of the incredible culture that flourished in the Middle Ages in what is now a backwater. It is the largest enamel artwork in the world.
Tortum Şelalesi (waterfall)
If you tried to visit all these churches in one day you would be completely worn out. Much better to spread the visits over a couple of days, despite the paucity of accommodation in Uzundere, which would be the obvious alternative base to Yusufeli. From Uzundere you can also visit Turkey’s tallest waterfall, which lurks just out of sight of the road at the northern end of Tortum Gölü (Lake Tortum) and not, as you might mistakenly expect, near Tortum town.
Set in beautiful countryside, the 48-meter-high waterfall makes a spectacular sight at any time of year, although the locals will tell you that it’s at its most dramatic best in late May/early June when the snow melts on the mountains and the ground is awash with greenery.
WHERE TO STAY
Almatur Otel, Yusufeli. Tel: 0466-811 4056
Hotel Barcelona, Yusufeli. Tel: 0466-811 2627
Karahan Pension, Barhal. Tel: 0466-826 2071
Turan Pansiyon, Uzundere. Tel: 0535-821 7725
HOW TO GET THERE
Only Barhal church is accessible (just) by public transport so without your own wheels you will be dependent on taxis hired in Yusufeli and Uzundere. The nearest airport is in Erzurum, which has a much better choice of accommodation.
(Today’s Zaman)
