Artvin, Northeast Turkey

Set high in the Kaçkar Mountains at the eastern end of the Black Sea coast, Artvin is about as far from Istanbul as anyplace in Turkey can be.Artvin (ahrt-VEEN, alt. 520 meters/1706 feet, pop. 25,000) is far from Istanbul in distance (1317 km, 818 miles) and also in ambience. This is a rough-and-ready town of mountain farmers working in poor soil, of orchard arborists, livestock herders, and...prostitutes?! Yes, prostitutes.After the fall of the Soviet Union, formerly Soviet women (who came to be called "Natashas") in search of quick cash flooded into northeastern Turkey and turned many cheap hotels into brothels.Assuming that's not what you're looking for, you'll enjoy an hour's stroll through the town, but overnight facilities are limited and of a poor standard--even (perhaps especially) if you spend the night with a stranger. You're better off planning your itinerary so that you stay in Ayder, Erzurum, Kars, Trabzon, or even the small Kaçkar Mountains town of Yusufeli.The main attraction of the Caucasus Culture and Arts Festival (Kafkasör Kültür ve Sanat Festivali), held in late June at an alpine pasture 7 km (4 miles) from the town, is bull wrestling matches.The town center of this provincial capital is perched high above the highway which follows the serpentine course of the Çoruh River. From the bus station on the highway you follow a winding road up, up, up for a few kilometers to the town proper.Distances & Travel TimesArdahan: 235 km (146 miles) E, 4 hoursErzurum: 215 km (134 miles) S, 4 hoursKars: 207 km (129 miles) SE, 4.5 hoursTrabzon: 235 km (146 miles) W, 4 hoursYusufeli: 85 km (53 miles) S, 2 hoursKaçkar Mountains, NE TurkeyExtreme northeastern Turkey is a land of steep, rocky mountains. The Kaçkars are the northeasternmost range, their slopes plummeting into the Black Sea.In the steep, fertile valleys, farmers in villages and small towns make a precarious living from their fruit (especially apricot) and nut (especially walnut) orchards, mountain fields and pastures.In the 1970s an American named Richard Bangs arrived in the Kaçkars intent on rafting down the treacherous Çoruh River which thunders along the steep valley on the southeastern side of the Kaçkars, with Class 6 rapids in some places. He did it, then began bringing groups through his company, Sobek Expeditions, to do it with him. Thus was white-water river rafting born in the Kaçkars.Today people come to the mountains to shoot the rapids along the Çoruh, to visit the interesting old Georgian churches left from when the population here was mostly Christian Caucasians, to trek in the mountains, or simply to drive through the valleys and enjoy the dramatic scenery.Yusufeli, 130 km (81 miles) north of Erzurum, right in the midst of the best trekking and rafting country, is the favored base. A more pleasant town than the nearby provincial capital of Artvin, Yusufeli is right across the summits from Ayder on the Black Sea slope.