Tortum Attractions

On the way from Erzurum to Tortum (some 52km/30mi north), the road climbs over the 2,120m/6,958ft high Güzelyayla Pass. The village of Güzelyayla, to the left on the hillside at the top of the pass, contains an Armenian church (Artsathi), founded in the fifth century but rebuilt several times. 13km/8mi beyond Tortum is a crossroads where a minor road branches off east to Oltu, The road in the opposite direction follows a mountain valley westwards to the small village of Tortum Kale where stands another very dilapidated Georgian fort, Tortum Kalesi.