Muş
Muş is a province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. Its population was 400,000 in 2022. Its provincial seat and largest city is also named Muş.
Understand
| “ | Mush is the most mis-governed town in the Ottoman Empire. | ” |
—H. F. B. Lynch, Armenia: Travels and Studies. Volume II: The Turkish Provinces, 1901 | ||
Muş Province is divided into 6 districts: Muş, Varto, Bulanık, Malazgirt, Hasköy, and Korkut. Its name may come from the Armenian word mshush (մշուշ), meaning fog.
Kurds make up the majority of the population. The rest are Arabs and Crypto-Armenians, with some scattered villages inhabited by the descendants of the North Caucasians who fled their homeland in the 19th century as the Russian Empire expanded into the area. Turkish and Kurdish are the main languages.
History
Muş is very important in terms of Turkish history. The Battle of Manzikert in 1071, between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuk Turks, was fought in the Malazgirt district of Muş. The decisive Seljuk victory led to the foundation of the earliest Turkish state in Asia Minor, the Sultanate of Rum.
Get in
By plane
🌍 Muş Sultan Alparslan Airport (MSR IATA) (Muş Sultan Alparslan Havalimanı) (18 km east of the city center).
By train
The regional train running between Elazığ and Tatvan (Elazığ-Tatvan Bölgesel Treni) goes through Muş, as does the Lake Van Express (Vangölü Ekspresi) on its route from Ankara via Kayseri, Sivas, Malatya and Elazığ to Tatvan, across plenty of mountainous scenery.
🌍 Muş railway station (Muş Tren Garı) (1.5 km north of the D300 roundabout).
By bus
🌍 Muş Bus Station (Muş Otogarı or MUŞTİ) (5 km away from the city center).
Get around
Taxis and buses are available and cheap.
See
Muş and its vicinity
- 🌍 Haspet Castle (Haspet Kalesi) (on the mountain slope in the central district of Muş). Historical castle.
- 🌍 Murat Bridge (Tarihi Murat Köprüsü). Historical bridge on the Murat River
- 🌍 Muş Castle (Kale Parkı).
- 🌍 Muş Plain (Muş Valley, Muş Ovası). Offers nice views, especially in the spring. Poppies, which bloom annually in May, paint the Muş Plain a vivid red.
- 🌍 Surp Marineh Church (Սուրբ Մարինէ եկեղեցի). Ruin of an Armenian church abandoned during the Armenian genocide; only parts of its walls remain. Back in the day, this was the cathedral of the town and the surrounding area.
- 🌍 Arakelots Monastery (Մշո Սուրբ Առաքելոց վանք). Ruin of an Armenian monastery destroyed by the Turkish government in the 1960s.
- 🌍 Muş Grand Mosque (Muş Ulu Camii). Ancient Armenian church converted into a mosque.
- 🌍 Alaaddin Bey Mosque (Alaaddin Bey Camii).
- 🌍 Hacı Şeref Mosque (Hacı Şeref Cami).
- 🌍 Yıldızlı Inn (Yıldızlı Han).
North and West
- 🌍 (Künav Mağarası).
- 🌍 Lake Akdoğan (Lake Hamurpert). Two neighbouring high-altitude lakes separated by a land strip of 200 m (660 ft).
- 🌍 Bingöl Mountains (Bingöl Dağları).
- 🌍 Mercimekkale Mound (Mercimekkale Höyüğü). Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) archaeological site
- 🌍 Kayalıdere Castle (Kayalıdere Kalesi) (in the Varto district). Historical Urartu castle on a rocky hill.
- 🌍 Yukarıyongalı (Մշո Սուրբ Առաքելոց վանք). Stones and crosses (khachkars) from the destroyed Surb Karapet Armenian monastery are embedded in the walls of many buildings of the village of Yukarıyongalı (or Çengilli). Before Surp Karabet was abandoned in 1915, it was second in Armenian Apostolic Church hierarchy, only to Echmiadzin, the seat of the church.
Do
The annual Tulip Festival, at the end of April.
You can see demoiselle cranes (Grus virgo, known locally as "telli turna") – and hear their distinctive melodic song – in March-April on the islands on the Murat River, in the Bulanık Plain.
- 🌍 Muş ski resort (Muş kayak merkezi). Ski resort in Muş.
Climbing
For climbing in Muş province, Karaçavuş mountains, Bingöl mountains, Göztepe mountain, Akdoğan mountains and Bilican Mountains are a good option.
Trekking
Head to Akdoğan Lake for trekking.
Dances and songs
Muş is known for its folk dances. Typical Eastern Anatolian halay dances can be seen. They are played in the form of games held in a clamp, games held with little fingers (swordsman), applause, and wrapped-on-the-waist games. You can listen to Muş folk songs.
Eat
Muş grape and Muş honey (light-coloured honey containing pollen grains) are local specialty products. Efforts are being made to develop grape growing.
Local dishes include:
- stuffed Muş-style breakfast,
- hez (prepared by slowly cooking cabbage stuffed with a mixture of meat cubes and rice),
- çorti (in winter, chopped cabbage leaves),
- mırtöge (fried egg into a mixture of flour and oil),
- cavbelek (blending dried yoghurt, called “kurut” in the region, with flour, bulgur, garlic, and onion),
- helimaşı soup (made of tender meat, boiled until it separates from the bones, as well as chickpeas, lentils, and onions),
- herse (boiled boneless meat with boiled wheat),
- kırçik (cucumber peels and onion and pepper roasted in oil), served with the "işkene" sauce (yoghurt, garlic, and butter),
- teter halva (bread soaked in molasses and topped with cream and hazelnuts),
- Muş pastry,
- stuffed cabbage with tomato,
- Muş's sour meatball (hafta direği),
- cağ brine (mountain plant is collected in the summer and preserved in jars, like pickles).
You can eat fish at the trout facilities near Hamurpet Lake.
Drink
Modern "cafés" are more likely to serve alcohol than traditional "kahve". Try the Kurdish coffee (menengiç kahvesi), a caffeine-free coffee-like beverage made from ground roasted terebinth fruits (related to the pistachio).
Sleep
There are only a few hotels, including:
- 🌍 Muş Grand Otel.
- 🌍 Muş Mir Saray Hotel (Muş Mir Saray Otel).
- 🌍 Olcay Suites Hotel.
Stay safe
- There have been a lot of drowning incidents in the Murat river. Swimming in the Murat river is dangerous.
- Beware of snakes while walking among the grass in the mountains in spring and summer.
Stay healthy
Tap water may not be safe.
Connect
As of 2023, Muş has 4G but not 5G.