Driving the frightening road to Tahir Pass in Turkey's Tahir Mountains

Tahir Pass is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 2.496m (8,188ft) above the sea level, located in Ağrı Province, in Eastern Turkey.

Tahir Pass

What’s the origin of Tahir Geçidi?

Set high in the Turkey’s hazardous Tahir mountains, the road to the summit is fully unpaved. It was a military road on the Old Silk Road, between Erzurum and Agri and heavily used by trucks in the 1970s. During winter time the road was a nightmare for the truck drivers on the way to Iran.

How long is the road to Tahir Pass?

The pass is 25.2 km (15.65 miles) long running from Aydıntepe to Güneykaya. It’s very steep and narrow, and usually impassable four months of the year. On the steep, ice-sheeted roads, trucks slide even when stationary and when it is too dangerous to brake, the only way to slow down is to run from drift to drift. It is frightening and deserted. The road is perilous and involves a treacherous spell across the mountains.

Why is the road less travelled now?

A few years ago, the most dangerous section of the drive was bypassed by a paved modern highway called E80-D100.
Pic: https://www.facebook.com/Tahir04/posts/10152928911901840