2 Best Sights in Dogubeyazit and Mt. Ararat, The Black Sea Coast and Lake Van

The region's most famous mountain is actually an extinct volcano covered with snow even in summer and soaring dramatically 16,850 feet above the arid plateau and dominating the landscape. According to Genesis, after the Great Flood, "the waters were dried up from off the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry." The survivors, as the story goes, had just landed on top of Mt. Ararat. Many other ancient sources—Chaldean, Babylonian, Chinese, Assyrian—also tell of an all-destroying flood and of one man who heroically escaped its consequences. The truth is that people have been searching for the actual ark since medieval times, and nothing has ever been found. The mountain can be easily viewed from Doğubeyazıt, although actually climbing it requires a permit that can only be obtained by a licensed agency and usually takes at least a few days to acquire. Be prepared for a lot of walking on gravel, and be forewarned that the summit is often shrouded in clouds. Local tour offices will take you on a day trip that includes a visit to a village at the base of the mountain, which is the closest you can get to Ararat without a permit.

Other than to catch a glimpse of Mt. Ararat, the main reason to visit Doğubeyazit is the enchanting İshak Paşa Sarayı, in the mountains southeast of town. The fortified palace was built in the late 18th century by local potentate Çolak Abdi Paşa and his son İshak. The interior of the building features ornate stonework, a fantastic mixture of Armenian, Persian, and classical Ottoman styles, but the once gold-plated doors were carted off by Russian troops in 1917 and are now in St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum. Like Istanbul's Topkapı, the palace is divided into three areas: the first courtyard, which was open to all; the second courtyard, which holds the mosque and meeting rooms once used by the Paşa and other important personages; and the third courtyard, an inner sanctum housing the massive kitchen and the harem. Note how most rooms are small and equipped with their own hearths for the long cold winters. Visit in the morning or late afternoon, when the sun casts a deep orange glow over the palace. A renovation has placed a discordant, modern glass roof over portions of the site. You can clamber up to the fortress on a rough trail that starts next to the mosque; look for the two Uratian figures carved in the rock. Above the palace are a few Kurdish mud-brick houses. Taxis from Doğubeyazit cost around 60 TL one way, though they will also wait for an hour for an extra 20 to 30 TL.