Kars Is Sweet With Balyolu

In my imagination, Kars is filled with snow.

Because, you see, Snow is full of Kars.

My favorite Orhan Pamuk novel is set in the Eastern Turkish city in the middle of a crippling snow storm, and for a long time my only knowledge of the place came from this novel.

But when I went to Kars, it was midsummer. The Kars of my imagination and the Kars I encountered in real life existed in two different spheres… and by all accounts, I should have been miserable in real-life Kars. A single woman traveling alone in a city that turned out to have little tourist infrastructure and no real hostels should have left me lonely, uncomfortable, and sad.

However, a little bit of luck turned Kars into a singular experience for me.

One night in my Tbilisi hostel, I met a lovely Moldovan-American girl named Kseniya, who was temporarily living in Kars and was shocked that I planned to go there. She immediately insisted I stay with her.

Kseniya

And the reason Kseniya was in Kars, of all places? She was interning with Balyolu, a beekeeping and organic honey start-up.

I’d actually heard of Balyolu before.  Cat, the founder, CEO, and resident genius of Balyolu wrote a blog post that I’d read back in April which discussed the difficulties she faced as an American female entrepreneur in Eastern Turkey, and her mad idea mesmerized me.

Among certain people, staying with Balyolu in Kars is the most impressive part of my trip—the company has an almost mythical status in some circles in Istanbul.

I couldn’t have landed at a better place. The Balyolu headquarters was also the home of Kseniya and Cat, and my days there were filled with joy—dinner parties and long conversations and endless jars of delicious honey. I ate it by the spoonful, straight from the jar. It was honey heaven.

Staying with the Balyolu crew also meant that I didn’t explore Kars alone. Kseniya and I took long walks around the town, seeking out the old Russian architecture and castles. A group of us tried to go on a hike but were thwarted by one of the most epic storms I’ve ever seen—the sky turned BLACK.

It was crazy…

…and then it got CRAZIER.

Instead, we drove away from the storm and into the rolling hills around Kars. The natural beauty of this part of Turkey is stunning. The land is fresh and green and the mountains thrust out of the landscape with dramatic certainty; rivers run in dark gray ribbons and the trees sway in the midsummer wind.

And after such an intense storm, we had an extra treat: a rainbow!

Who is that crazy black smudge running under the rainbow?…oh, it’s me.

After three years of work and a successful honey harvest, Balyolu is shutting down. It’s the end of an era, but I’m glad I had a chance to experience the hospitality and VITALITY of this quirky, thrilling company before their end. Balyolu made my experience in Kars unforgettable.