Description of the attraction
Erzurum is an amazing and picturesque mountainous region in eastern Turkey, where historical sights and pristine nature are successfully combined. The ancient city of Erzurum is located at an altitude of about two thousand meters above sea level. It is especially popular among skiers, as well as connoisseurs of picturesque places and ancient civilizations.
One hundred kilometers from Erzurum and twenty kilometers to the east beyond Köprüköy is the elegant Chobandede Bridge, built on the banks of the Aras River, the most remarkable medieval bridge in Turkey. The bridge is an important structure on the Araks River, it has seven spans and six arches, which are especially mesmerizing at sunset.
As one of the historical monuments, the bridge is currently not used for traffic. Previously, a highway and a railway passed along it, which ran parallel to the river stretching up to Khorasan, where E80 / 100 turns southeast - through Argy and Dogubayazid - to Iran, and trains and highway 80 head north.
The Chobandede Bridge is two hundred and twenty meters long and was built of multi-colored bricks in the 13th century (1297) by the Seljuks with money from a certain Ilkhanite vizier, Emir Choban Salduz, a ruler from the Chobanid dynasty. In honor of him, the bridge got its name. It is a very impressive structure.
The Aras River flows down from the Bingol Yayla and, passing under Malazgirt, flows eastward. Further, it passes under the fortresses of Khynys and Artyf, flows under the bridge, which has the shape of a ring and, bypassing many villages, passes under Chobandede, and below the fortress Yerevan merges with the Zanga River, and below with the Kura, from which it flows into the Gilan Sea (Caspian Sea). This river can be violent. When the snow melts on the Bingol yayla, it rolls waves and rages like the sea.
