Armenia-Turkey Border Crossing

I just returned from an incredible two-week trip to Turkey.  Two other volunteers and I saw the major tourist sites and much of the country from the perspective of volunteers who had not been out of Armenia in ten months at least.

Making the arrangements to travel was a very difficult process.  Besides needing to let the Peace Corps know where we were going to be at every minute, when often we did not know, we had the issue of crossing the border to Turkey.  I can see Turkey to the west from where I live in Gyumri, a few kilometers away.  But because the border is closed we had to take about an eight-hour detour east and north to Georgia through the capital of Tbilisi, then west to the Black Sea which we followed most of the way to Istanbul.  The bus ride was 36 hours.  We wanted to bus to Istanbul and take the train back to eastern Turkey, but were originally told that we had to buy a round trip bus ticket and carry $1,000 because the Turkish government had recently put in this rule since they have a serious problem with Armenians going to Turkey and remaining illegally as they look for jobs.  (I’ve also been told that the issue is with the Armenian government, which is concerned about the outward emigration from Armenia.)  The bus company did not know how to handle American travelers so we had to search for a company that would sell us a one-way ticket.

There is a lot of talk about opening the border between Turkey and Armenia, and in fact it appeared that this might be happening several months ago.  But “opening” the border involves more than just opening gates.  The current roads to and through the border into Georgia are unbelievably awful.  Leaving Armenia and entering Georgia is an arduous task at two different gates.  The roads leading up to and away from the border are often gravel, dirt, or so severely pot-holed that travel commences at less than twenty miles an hour.  And the roads are so twisty and winding through river canyons or on the tops of snow-covered mountainous fields that you feel even God has abandoned these places.  The point is that very little attention or money has been devoted to these crossings.  The experience is tortuous.

From Kars, Turkey, the nearest town to Gyumri (89 kilometers if the border were opened), we had to travel north to Georgia over an often-graveled road that climbed a hill topped out by snow at 8,400 feet.  I hesitate to call it a mountain because it looked more like a huge wind-swept snow-covered hill than a sharp rocky mountain mass.  At the Turkish-Georgia border (Turkgozu crossing), the rifle-armed Turkish guards stamped our passports and then the Georgia guards checked our passports and our luggage.  The crossing buildings consisted of four small trailers, a large storage shed, and an outhouse.  But both border agents were hooked up to computers, scanned our passports, and took our pictures.  Then three hours later, after traveling on a very difficult road in a valley alongside a river (and seeing several castles or maybe monasteries), we arrived at the Georgia-Armenia border (Bavra crossing) where we went through the same process again, though this time there was snow and ice on the ground, a very strong wind, and it was about 35 degrees.  (You always have to get out of the car/bus at these crossings.)  So it took us from 9 am to 4:30 pm or 7.5 hours to cross the border.

The border crossing from Armenia to Turkey near Gyumri, which is also the most direct route to Ankara and Istanbul from Armenia, has not been used in more than twenty years.  People here say that the roads and bridges are not passable.  I’ve seen a picture of the little two-lane bridge at the nearby crossing here (about five kilometers away) and it is inconceivable to me that it could handle a semi, and certainly not two semis side by side.  So even if the two countries could come to an agreement that they could abide by, it would still be at least a year or longer before the infrastructure would be set up to allow the opening to happen, and that is assuming that each side improves their roads, bridges, and customs/emigration stations.  I think that we are talking about years, as Armenia has no money for infrastructure. 

We were stunned by the differences between Armenia and Turkey.  The most notable was how clean and well-maintained Turkey was.  In Armenia people dump their trash (and cars) in any vacant spot; in rivers, streams, fields, streets, etc.  The people do not see “trash” as their responsibility.  They also do not maintain the outside of their homes generally.  Those who own their own apartments feel free to do anything to make their apartment their own without regard to their neighbors.  The result is some of the ugliest apartment buildings imaginable.  Turkey felt spotlessly clean, and beautiful.  Apartments and houses were well maintained and landscaped.  And they were painted in wonderful Mediterranean colors.  There were lots of parks and nice public spaces.  And there is a lot of landscaping alongside roads.  It is obvious that there is a major effort to plant trees.

Another huge difference was signage.  It is easy to find your way around Turkey.  Roads, cities, towns, streets, and businesses were identified attractively and well.  (Better than in the US.)  It helps that in 1928 Turkey replaced the Arabic script by adopting the Latin alphabet (though they don’t use the q, x, and w).  Some of the letters are pronounced a little differently and they have a few enhancements but if you can’t say it, you can write it, and they will understand where you want to go.  In Armenia it would be fair to say that signage does not exist.  To make matters worse many streets have both Armenian and Russian names and some people don’t know both.  When I first arrived and was distressed about the lack of signs I was told that “everyone” knows the name of this or that street.  I quickly learned that I was not “everyone.”

Turkish people generally have very good teeth.  We did not see either missing teeth or gold teeth, which are prevalent in Armenia.  In Armenia about 30% of small food stores are devoted to candy and cookies, something that we did not see in Turkey. 

It is very clear that Turkey has a one foot planted loosely in Eastern culture and one foot planted firmly in Western culture.  Many times I was surprised as I watched a group of young people in Istanbul and thought to myself that they looked as if they were from Southern California.  Armenia’s closest ties are to Russian culture and the difference is startling as it effects dress, manners, and their view of the world. 

My host mother’s father was from Kars, Turkey and several times she has talked about the pain of her family’s forced march from Kars.  And about how bad the Turkish government has treated the Armenians.  So when I walked in the door from my trip I had a difficult time talking about it.  I did tell them that I enjoyed it a lot.  I have not told them how nice the people were and how clean the country was.

Very few people in Armenia travel.   Armenia is about the size of Maryland with 3 million people.  Turkey is about the size of Texas with 70 million people.  Free trade with Turkey and exposure to their Western outlook (as opposed to the Russian influence) can only work to Armenia’s advantage.  I would sure like to see the border opened.  Wording regarding the genocide issue seems to be the current  political holdup.