Bird's Eye Views of Eastern Anatolia, Turkey

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist emrahkarakoc brings us this stunning aeial video from Lake Van, Turkey's largest lake.  A saltwater lake, it lies in the country's Eastern Anatolian region, not far from the Turkish border with Iran.  The lake covers almost 1.5k square mi. (3.8k square km), with a maximum depth of just under 1.5k ft. (450 m).  It is one of the largest saltwater lakes in the world.  It's also one of the largest endorheic lakes, in which there is no visible outlet for the water.  

Turkey Home submitted this beautiful drone videos of one of the most iconic sites in eastern Turkey.  Çifte Minareli Medrese is a 13th century school in the city of Ezurum, which is the capital of the province of the same name.  The province lies towards the northeastern corner of the Eastern Anatolian region, just west of the province of Kars.  The school, which is associated with the daughter of a Sultan from the Ottoman Empire days, is well recognized for its dual "minarets" which dominate its facade. 

Hosap Castle was an important element of rule of the lands of eastern Anatolia by Istanbul under the Ottoman Empire.  The landmark is situated in Van province, southeast of the provincial capital city of Van which lies on the eastern shore of Lake Van (Turkey's largest lake).  Hosap Castle was built in the 17th century by an Ottoman governor who was responsible for this region of the great empire.  FlyONE used a drone to create this amazing aerial view of this impressive looking and formidable medieval castle.  

Although it goes by several different names, Turkey's Karanlık Kanyon is definitely on the top five lists of many of the world's canyon-rankers.  Carved out by a major subsidiary of the Euphrates River (one of the ancient world's most important waterways), the canyon runs through a portion of Turkey's Eastern Anatolia region.  Top contributor and pilot Alp Karagule filmed this marvel by drone.  When you're watching this aerial video, you will appreciate the meaning of its name, which translates to "Dark Canyon".

Among the many historical treasures of Eastern Turkey is the Shamiram Canal, which was once also known as the Menua Canal.  Located a short distance to the east of the provincial capital Van, the canal predates the Roman aquaducts by centuries.  It was constructed in the 8th century BC on the orders of the king of Uartu, an ancient kingdom in what is now the region of Eastern Anatolia.  Content creator and drone pilot Skaty brings us this marvelous aerial view of this marvel of early hydro-engineering.  

Prepare to be blown away by this stunning drone video of the ancient Turkish city of Mardin, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot Burak BÜYÜKBAYRAKTAR.  Mardin is the capital of the eponymously named province in the southeastern part of the country, and was an important city in the "original" as well as the "neo" Assyrian Empires.  The city is known in part for its distinctive architectural style, much of which stems from the use of beige-colored rock which is produced by nearby quarries.

Prepare to be amazed by this drone video of a famous castle and an even more famous mountain in eastern Turkey, compliments of top AirVuz contributor and pilot Iskenderfilm.  Ishak Pasha Palace is a castle in the Ağrı Province, which lies near the country's borders with Armenia and Iran.  The palace was completed in the late 18th century, construction having started in the 17th.  The semi-ruined edifice lies in the shadow of Mt. Ararat, Turkey's highest peak and the purported resting place of Noah's Ark.  

Contributor FlyONE created this stunning drone video of the Van Fortress, a massive fortification just east of Turkey's Lake Van in its Eastern Anatolian region.  The fortress was built during the 9th-7th centuries BC by the Urartu kingdom, an ancient kingdom which sprung up in the area around Lake Van.  The Urartu kingdom went into decline and was conquered by Persia, following which it became part of the kingdom of Armenia.  The fortress continued to be used by successive occupiers of the region.  

Contributor FlyONE used a drone to create this amazing shot of an ancient incription by the Persian King Xerxes I.  Known as the XV Inscription, it's etched into a mountain near Lake Van in eastern Turkey.  It dates to the fifth century BC.  In the inscription, the king of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire declared himself the King of Kings, as indeed he was: at the time, the Empire was the largest the world had ever known.  The words were written on a slate which been cleared by Xerxes' father, Darius I.

Take a wintertime aerial tour of Turkey's Kars province, compliments of contributor and drone pilot jesus_tr.  Kars is one of the provinces in the northeastern part of Turkey (a region known as Northeast Anatolia), a mountainous area which borders Armenia and which is home to some of the best ski slopes in Turkey.  The video was shot as part of a trip on the Doğu Ekspresi, a train which runs about 1.3k km (around 800 mi.) from the Turkish capital Ankara to the city of Kars, the province's capital.  

Contributor and pilot Murat Turna created this highly cinematic drone video of an express train rolling through the countryside of eastern Turkey in the depths of winter.  It was shot in the Kars province, which lies in the far northeastern corner of the country, bordering Armenia.  The lands here bear the imprint of a number of different cultures; in ancient times Kars was part of the Kingdom of Armenia, which ruled over much of what is now modern-day Armenia and eastern Turkey in for about six centuries.

Here is an aerial video of an amazing sight in the eastern part of Turkey. It's a waterfall created by the opening of an underground river pouring forth from a mountain.  It's located near the town of Çatak, which lies just to the south of Lake Van in the Van province of Eastern Anatolia.  The video, which was created by contributor FlyONE, opens with an amazing shot over the dead-flat approaches to the mountain, which lies on the Anatolian Plateau, the great landform which dominates the geography of central Turkey.

Contributor and pilot FlyONE created this beautiful drone video of a famous Armenian cathedral on Akdamar, an island in the middle of the enormous Lake Van of Eastern Turkey.  Akdamar is one of four islands in the lake, Turkey's largest and one of the largest lakes in the world having no outlet.  The Holy Cross Cathedral was built in the 9th century AD by the king of one of the Armenian provinces.  It had fallen into a near-ruined condition and was nearly demolished but was subsequently saved and then restored.  

Check out this drone video of a stunning spot in the far eastern part of Turkey, compliments of contributor Tansel Öztürk.  It was filmed near the city of Ani, in the Kars province, near the border with Armenia, in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains.  The city was the capital of the Bagratid Armenia and was one of the largest cities in the world in the 10th and 11th centuries AD.  It suffered a one-two punch of the Mongols and an earthquake in the 12th and 13th centuries, never to recover.  

Of all the magnificent sights of Turkey, one of the best is undoubtedly in its far eastern reaches, in the Ağrı Province.  Here lies the Ishak Pasha Palace, an Ottoman era landmark constructed during the 17th and 18th centuries.  Not only is the palace itself an incredible sight, but it lies in the shadow of Mt. Ararat, Turkey's highest mountain at 5.1k meters (around 16.9k ft.).  You can see this spectacular area of Eastern Anatolia in this amazing drone video by top contributor iskanderfilms.  

Contributor Murat Turna created this drone video of a beautiful region of eastern Turkey known as Kemaliye.  It's part of the Erzincan Province in Eastern Anatolia.  The main geographic feature of the region is the Karasu River, which is also known as the Western Euphrates and one of two sources of the great Euphrates River itself.  In Kemaliye, the river has created a canyon, which is both a major recreational area and also the route by which Kemalye is connected to the rest of the country by rail and road.  

Take in these stunning drone views of a canyon of the Tigris River in southeastern Turkey, compliments of AirVuz contributor Esra Kaya.  The canyon is located on a bend in the great river near the town of Sulak in Şırnak Province, which lies along Turkey's southeastern borders with Iraq and Syria.  The Tigris River is one of the two great waterways (along with the Euphrates River, which runs to its west) which defined the historical region of Mesopotamia, considered the birthplace of civilization.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Winner dronesantana007 brings us these excellent aerial views from southeastern Turkey.  The video opens with shots of the Mor Hananyo Monastery, which is located near the provincial capital city of Mardin.  The next stop is the ruins of the fortress of Dara, ancient city near the present-day border with Syria.  Then it's on to the town of Halfeti, on the banks of the Euphrates River in the province of Şanlıurfa.  The last stop is the "cupola houses" of Harran, also in the Şanlıurfa Province.  

Top contributor jesus_tr aerially captured an express train crossing a bridge amidst some of the most spectacular natural scenery to be found in Turkey.  Van Gölü Ekspresi (Lake Van Express) is a new twice-weekly rail service between the capital city of Ankara and Tatvan, a city on the western shore of Lake Van.  The route provides another way to see the beauty of eastern Turkey by rail; it follows the success of the Eastern Express route which runs between Ankara and the northeastern city of Kars.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor mehmeterdem brings us this outstanding drone video from eastern Turkey.  The video was filmed in the district of Sason in the province of Batman, which is located in the southeastern part of the country, a bit to the west of Lake Van.  This area is considered part of Turkish Kurdistan, which in turn is part of the larger historical region of Kurdistan that also covers portions of Iran, Iraq, and Syria.  The mountains here range up to about 10k ft. above sea level or around 3k m.  

Top contributor and pilot IlkerCagatayAsik created this drone video of a beautiful spot in eastern Turkey.  It's the town of Palu, which is part of the Elazığ Province in the Eastern Anatolia region.  The video features footage of this historic town, as well as of the Murat River which runs through the area.  The Murat is also known as the Eastern Euphrates; it joins the Western Euphrates just downtstream from Palu to form the main section of the Euphrates River, the longest waterway in the Middle East.  

Check out this stunning drone videos from one of the most iconic sites in eastern Turkey, compliments of contributor and pilot Spyd7r.  It's a 10th century Armenian church called the Holy Cross Cathedral.  It's situated on Akdamar, one of the islands of Lake Van, Turkey's largest lake.  For nearly eight centuries, it was the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the national church of the Armenian people.  It fell into disuse after World War I but was "rediscovered" in the 1950's and extensively restored.  

Sarıkamış is a town in the Kars province of northeastern Turkey.  It came under control of the Russian Empire at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated and Russia re-established itself on the Black Sea following its defeat in the Crimean War two decades earlier.  During the four+ decades when it was under Russian control, a hunting lodge was built here by Tsar Nicholas II.   Known as the Katerina Mansion, you can see it from above in this drone video by Spyd7r.

Check out this drone video of a well-known canyon in eastern Turkey, compliments of contrent creator and pilot Serdar SEN.  Karanlik Canyon, which translates roughly to "Dark Canyon", runs across two districts of Erzincan, one of the provinces of the Northeast Anatolia region. The 25 km (16 mi.) long canyon is up to 1k meters (3.3k) deep.  The canyon is created by the Karasu River near its source; the river is one of the main tributaries of the Euphrates, one of the most important waterways in Eurasia.  

Contributor OGB Omer Gokcen created this drone video of a famous ruined medieval town in eastern Turkey.  It's called Ani, and it's in the province of Kars in Northeast Anatolia.  Around the turn of the first millennium, Ani was the capital of a vast empire called Bagratid Armenia which covered much of modern-day Armenia and parts of Turkey.  Once one of the world's largest cities, Ani was sacked by the Mongols in the 13th century and devastated by an earthquake in the 14th; it never recovered.

Turkey's Eastern Express train is an overnight passenger route between the national capital Ankara and Kars, the northeasternmost Turkish city.  Operating since the 1930's, it's a popular way for tourists to see the beautiful scenery of Eastern Anatolia.  Its winding route takes it through the Ardahan Province, which lies a bit north of Kars near the borders with Georgia and Armenia.  In this drone video by Murat Turna, you'll see the train speeding past Lake Çıldır, one of the largest in the region.

The mountain of Nemrut (sometimes called Nemrud) in southeastern Turkey is known for its summit, not its peak. The summit has a number of large statues erected around what is generally believed to be a royal tomb from the 1st century BC. At an elevation of around 2.1k meters above sea level (around 7k ft.), it is one of the highest peaks on the eastern side of the Taurus Mountains. See the incredible mountain by drone in this 4K video by pilot jesus_tr.  Also, you can read more about the mountain in his informative description. 

Contributor and drone pilot Skaty created this amazing aerial video of Turkey's largest waterfall.  Tortum Waterfall is located in the northeastern corner of the country, in the Ezurum province which is part of the country's Eastern Anatolia region.  A massive hydroelectric project completed in 1960 drastically reduced the flow of water over the falls, such that it's dry much of the year.  The falls and the lakes which surround it are popular sightseeing destinations in this part of the country.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist emrahkarakoc bings us this beautiful drone video from the mountains of eastern Turkey.  The video was filmed in the Munzur Valley, which is located in the province of Tunceli in the region of Northeastern Anatolia.  The Munzur Mountains are considered a northeastern extension of the Taurus Mountnains, the main chain of which forms a roughly "smile" shape covering much of the southern part of the country.  Much of the valley is part of the Munzur Valley National Park, Turkey's largest national park.  

Check out this stunning drone video from eastern Turkey, compliments of content creator and pilot Serdar SEN.  He managed to aerially film some mountain goats in a river gorge near Kemaliye, in the Erzincan Province of the country's Northeast Anatolia region.  The river you'll see running through the gorge is the Karasu, also known as the Western Euphrates.  The Karasu joins its eastern counterpart to form the Euphrates proper, one of the most important rivers of the entire Middle Eastern region.  

AirVuz contributor Truvali_17 brings us this excellent drone video of Turkey's Lake Nemrut, one of the world's largest crater lakes.  It's located in the eastern province of Bitlis, just west of the (much larger) Lake Van.  It sits atop Lake Nemrut, which last erupted in the 17th century and is now considered dormant.  The lake has a surface area of nearly five square mi. (just over 12 square km) and is quite deep - just over 575 ft. (176 m) at its deepest point.  It's recognized and legally protected as an important wetlands area.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist emrahkarakoc brings us this stunning drone video of a historic spot in the mountains of eastern Turkey.  It's the ruins of the Monastery of the Holy Illuminator, and it's located on Mt. Sebuh in the province of Erzinjan at an altitude of about 8.5k ft. above sea level (around 2.6k m).  The Holy Illuminator, aka Gregory the Illuminator, founded the Amenian Apostolic Church in the early 4th century AD, at a time when much of what is now eastern Turkey was under the control of the Kingdom of Armenia.   

Check out this fascinating drone video of an important ancient ruins site in eastern Turkey, compliments of top contributor and pilot jesus_tr.  It's called Göbekli Tepe, and it's located in the Şanlıurfa Province in Turkey's Southeast Anatolia region.  Under archaeological excavation since 1996, it's a series of 200 pillars arranged in about 20 different circles; each pillar weighs up to 10k+ kg (about ten tons).  Believed to be an ancient temple, the ruins are estimated to be 10-12k years old, amongst the oldest ever found.  

Check out this fantastic first person view (FPV) drone video from the mountains of southeastern Turkey, compliments of AirVuz contributor and FPV pilot tamtantrik.  The video was filmed in the province of Hakkari, which is located in the country's southeastern corner, not far from Turkey's borders with neighboring Iraq (to the south) and Iran (to the east).  The largely mountainous province had a population of roughly 280k as of 2021.  This video was picked for the FPV Pilots to Watch list in July of 2023.   

One of the great cultural treasures of eastern Turkey is the city of Mardin, which is situated near the southeastern border with Syria.  Situated atop a hill overlooking the Tigris River, the city is known for its distinctive architectural style.  The captioned video contains footage of the following: Zinciriye Medresesi, Kasmiye Medresesi, Mor Smuni Kilisesi, Deyrulzafaren Monastiri, Dara Antik Kenti, Mardin Musezi, Mardin Kent Musezi, Tahrihi Kez Meslek Lisesi, Mardin Kilesi, Latifiye Camii, and more.

Contributor jesus_tr created this amazing drone video of one of the top attractions of eastern Turkey: Lake Van's Akdamar Island.  It's the second-largest of the four islands of Turkey's largest lake.  Located about 3 km (around 2 mi.) from the shoreline, the island is best known for its famous church, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.  This Armenian church was built in the 10th century AD.  Recently restored, the church was once one of the most important in the Armenian branch of Christianity.   

Former DVOW Winner iskenderfilm brings us this fantastic video from the ancient city of Mardin, Turkey.  The capital of its namesake province in the region of Southeast Anatolia, the city is strategically between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, near the Syrian border.  The city was under control of many different empires over the centuries, including the Assyrian, Achaemenid (Persian), Roman, Mongol, and Ottoman Empires.  Shot with a drone and ground camera, the video features some excellent aerial shots of the Great Mosque of Mardin.  

Ishak Palace is a 17th century castle in the Agri province of eastern Turkey.  The castle towers over the plains below it, with the peak of Mt. Ararat visible in the distance and beyond which lie the Armenian Highlands and behyond them the Caucasus Mountains.  Contributor Flyone flew his drone around this magnificent structure, creating a highly compelling aerial view of a stunningly beautiful area which represents the crossroads of two critical regions: the Caucasus Mountains and the Middle East.

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist emrahkarakoc brings us this stunning first person view (FPV) drone video of Mardin, a very old city in southeastern Turkey.  Mardin is the capital of the province of the same name, in Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia region.  The city lies just a short distance north of the Syrian border.  Mardin has been inhabited since the Bronze Age, and was part of two different Assyrian empires.  Most of its prominent architecture dates to its time under a Turkmen dynasty in the 11th-12th centuries.