There is a buzzing atmosphere like a summer camp on board the Dogu Ekspresi, Eastern Express, which glides across Anatolia and its snow-capped plateaus along the Euphrates. It has become Turkey's most coveted and festive train journey with multiple stops in the most beautiful parts of the country's east. Over 1,300 kilometres and numerous bends to get around the mountainous terrain, the train departs from Ankara twice a week, usually taking 32 hours to reach Kars, a historic city in the northeast on the border with Armenia and Georgia. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES