Erzurum is a marvellous and picturesque mountainous region in eastern Turkey, where historical sights and pristine nature are Erzurum is a marvellous and picturesque mountainous region in eastern Turkey. The ancient city of Erzurum is located at an altitude of about two thousand metres above sea level. It is especially popular among skiers, as well as connoisseurs of picturesque places and ancient civilisations.
One hundred kilometres from Erzurum and twenty kilometres east beyond Köprüköy, is the elegant Çobandede Bridge, built on the banks of the Aras River, the most most remarkable medieval bridge in Turkey. The bridge is an important structure on the Araks River, has seven spans and six arches, which are especially mesmerising at sunset.
Being one of the historical monuments, the bridge is currently not used for traffic. Previously, it contained a highway and railway that ran parallel to the river, stretching all the way to Khorasan, where E80/100 turns southeast through Arghi and Dogubayazid to Iran, and trains and Highway 80 head north.
The Chobandede Bridge is two hundred and twenty metres long and was built of multi-coloured brick in the 13th century (1297) by the Seljuks with the money of a certain Ilkhanite vizier Emir Choban Salduz, a ruler from the Chobanid dynasty. In his honour, the bridge in his honour. It is a very impressive construction.
The Aras River flows from the Bingöl yayla and, passing under Malazgirt, flows in an easterly direction. in an easterly direction. Then it passes under the fortresses of Khynys and Artyf, passes under the ring-shaped bridge and, after passing many villages, passes under Chobandede, and below the fortress of Yerevan it merges with the river Zanga, and below that with the river Kura, from which it joins the river Kura, from which it flows into the Sea of Gilan (Caspian Sea). This river can be violent. When the snow melts on the Bingöl yaila, it rolls waves and rages like the sea.
