ESI in Kars: Presentation on Turkey-Armenia relations

Kars. Photo: flickr/Jean & Nathalie

On August 31st, Nigar Goksel traveled to Kars to give a presentation on Turkey-Armenia relations to 25 students and analysts from the United States, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia. The event was part of Thomas Goltz's "New Silk Road Journey" that had begun in Baku on August 14th, and entailed traveling from Baku through Georgia (and, after Kars, on to Erzurum, Sivas, and Erzincan), with lectures along the way on energy & environment (and inevitably conflict too). After a tour of Ani, Nigar joined the group's trip to Erzurum, splitting her time between the two buses to keep up with the many remaining questions among the young fellows about the the politics and public opinion dynamics of Armenia-Turkey normalization.

Nigar Göksel in front of an old church ("Holy Apostles Church") turned into a mosque ("Kümbet Cami"). Photo: ESI

Turkish-Armenian border at the river Akhurian running along the old Armenian city ruins of Ani. Photo: ESI