We leave the train in snowstorm – which continues for the next four hours.
 
Plans for skiing, or even a trip to the top of the ski runs on the lift, are all abandoned.

We revisit the hotel where we performed last year and then return to the actual town of Sarıkamış for a late lunch and little shopping before catching the 4pm Belediye bus back to Kars.

We believe this bus could have taken the world record for the maximum number of passengers.

A conservative estimate was 80, as actual counting proved impossible there were so many standing in the aisle.

Although we were unable to take a photo we did survive the journey.

In the evening two members of the group indulged in a local food speciality – goose.

They actually dry the geese (we have been trying to get details of the drying process but no luck so far) and then put them into a hot oven to heat them up for the table.

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We think there must be some form of steaming involved in this process but, like good chefs the world over, ours would not reveal his secrets so suffice it to say the results were delicious.

  
In the photo you can see the remains of a plate of cold pickles which are served as the traditional aperitif to goose.

The goose is served on top of bulgur pilaf with a dish of stewed apricots on the side.

This writer has recently read a history of Ottoman cuisine in which there are many recipes involving meat and fruit – something which has almost disappeared completely from modern Turkish cuisine.

So it was good to encounter apricots served with goose – and it tasted delicious.

The apricot juice is spooned over the pilaf and the actual fruit eaten with the meat.

A glass of wine would have gone down a treat but, so far, we haven’t found a single restaurant in Kars where alcohol is served.

Still the goose was a lovely ending to another interesting day in the far north east.