Bayburt is a high, dry, windswept city on the upper Çoruh river, and after the green wetness of the Black Sea side it feels like arriving in another country. It sits at roughly fifteen hundred metres, in a plateau landscape of bare brown hills, wheat fields and clear skies, and its thirty thousand residents are used to winters that are long, cold and snowy. A castle dominates the town, a large fortress on a rocky ridge with walls that have been rebuilt many times, by Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans, and the view from the ramparts takes in the whole valley.
Bayburt is on an old trade route that connected Trabzon and the Black Sea with Erzurum and Persia, and in the Middle Ages it was part of the great caravan trail. Marco Polo is said to have passed through on his journey east, and the old stone bridge over the Çoruh is a reminder of the traffic that once flowed here. The city is associated with Dede Korkut, the legendary bard of the Oghuz Turks, and there is a monument in his honour. Nearby, the village of Baksı has an unusual museum of contemporary art, built on a hillside by a local artist.
Riding in from the coast, you cross the pass and come down into a wide, open landscape where the road runs fast and straight for long distances. The surface is mostly good, but the weather at altitude can be unpredictable, with strong winds, sudden storms, and cold even in July. The descent from the pass offers dramatic views, particularly late in the afternoon when the low sun lights the slopes. Expect farm vehicles and herds of sheep.
Fuel stations and shops are plentiful, since Bayburt is the main town on this part of the route, and there are simple restaurants in the centre serving lamb, soup and flatbread. The local sweet, a rich dessert of grape molasses and nuts, makes a good snack to carry. Warm clothing is wise even in summer, and in autumn it can be genuinely cold at dusk, so check the forecast before riding the high section back to the coast.