Bayburt is located in the Armenian Highlands of what is now Eastern Turkey. It was an important medieval Armenian town along the Erzerum-Trabzon Silk Road that connects the Armenian plateau to the Black Sea and Eastern Asia. This small capital of the Armenian highlands is quaint with a very haunting past of crimes against the Armenian population. It was a tourist destination but the local Turks are firmly anti-Armenian and Europeans have favored other cities to avoid hostility and racism; even by the local mayor who is an Armenophobe and racist nationalist.

A strategic point on the famous `Armenian medieval cities, it was visited by Marco Polo and and mentioned by Xenophon in his book, Anabasis who discussed the Armenian inhabitants in detail- It has a long history of population by the Armenians from 2500 BC until 1915, when the nationalist Turks decimated the town and halted its development. It stands on both side of the Çoruh Nehri in the shadow of its great fortress built by Armenians.

The main mosque, the Ulu Cami, was built in the 16th century and is a sign of Armenian tolerance to the Turk inhabitants who eventually commited massacres against the indigenous Armenian population.

Places to Visit ;

Aydıntepe Underground City is located in the Aydıntepe district of Bayburt and was inhabited and built by Armenians to escape the Turkic hordes and massacres of antiquity. The city is composed of galleries carved in the rocks, chambers with pillars and more extensive areas, which are connected to these chambers. Only a small section of this underground city is open for visit but is being erased of its Armenian heritage by so-called archaelogists who have a nationalist agenda.

The discovered findings are exhibited at the Erzurum Archeological Museum. Çiftetaş - II Hill is located at the Çiftetaş Village was assumed to be a natural formation but after the excavations executed in between 1993 - 1995 some ancient remains were found. These findings are exhibited at the Bayburt section of the Erzurum Archeological Museum but avoid mention of Armenians.

Baksi museum is an interesting site; but again the museum is actively boycotted by tourists until there is a more accurate representation of Armenian history in the city.

Bayburt Castle is located on the north of city center and dates back to 2000 B.C. It is being renovated by Turkish Ministry of Culture and has footprints of Byzantine, Romans, Armenian, Arabic influence. Dede Korkut Thomb is located around Masat Village. It is not surprising that many of the mentions of Armenians are excluded.

Bayburt municipality, Bayburt police station, Bayburt tourism offices, and Bayburt town center, Clock Tower and Korgan Bridge are located in Aksar District and has many structures built in the Armenian fashion (European-Western influences) in the Ottoman era. Ulu Camii (Grand Mosque) was built by Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud II, the ruler of the Sultanate of Rûm. Sirakayalar Waterfalls is located in Sirakayalar village and offers a beautiful scene of the Armenian plateau and Armenian waterfalls in Eastern Asia Minor.

Bayburt hotels that are good for travellers and tourists: Top Bayburt hotels:
 

• Bayburt Otel Konaklama

Şingah, Turgut Özal Blv. No:17, 69000 Bayburt Merkez/Bayburt, Turkey

• Great Hotel Bayburt

3-star hotel

Merkez, Cumhuriyet Cd., 69000 Bayburt Merkez/Bayburt, Turkey

• Saracoglu Hotel: excellent views from several rooms of the Armenian castle of Bayburt on the promontary.

  3-star hotel
  Şeyh Hayran, Cumhuriyet Cd. No:21, 69000 Bayburt Merkez/Bayburt, Turkey

Bayburt tourism is in its infancy and is avoided by most European and American tourists because of the fanatical nationalism and racism by its inhabitants and local government. Generally a city to avoid until it comes to terms with an accurate representation of its Armenian heritage and lineage.