Kars
View from Kars Kale
Coming from Erzurum, a bus ride of 4 hours is needed to cover
the 215 km long road that winds through the evergreen forests of the mountain
valleys, to reach the vast rolling steppes around Kars.
At an altitude of 1,750 meters, lying at the foot of Kars
Kale, the impressive citadel, Kars has known a turmoiled history.
The city was founded at the eastern side of the Kars river by the Urartians
as Asteghani. For a short period (928-961) it became the capital of the Armenian Bagratid
kingdom. During this time the Cathedral of the Holy Apostles was built. In 1064
Kars was conquered by the Seljuk Turks under Alp Arslan. Afterwards, it
was retaken by the joined Georgian-Armenian forces and was part of the Georgian kingdom for about 300 years.
In 1514 the Ottoman Turks conquered Kars and extended it with Kars Kalesi, a strong fortress
as protection against the
Persians. During the
19th century it was often invaded by the Russians, the last time from 1878
to 1920. The Russian legacy can still be seen in much of the town's
architecture. Kars, also known as the
"Caucasus Gate" of Eastern Anatolia, is important as a center for
trade in livestock and is also noted for its cheese. It also produces coarse
woolens, carpets, and felts. Located near the formerly Soviet and nowadays
Armenian border, it is an important military station and is linked by rail and
road with the principal Turkish cities.
Kars is also the setting of the novel Snow (Kar
in Turkish) by the 2006 Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk. In this novel the
poet Kerim Alakusoglu, conveniently named after his initials Ka, returns back
home to Turkey during the 1990's after having lived for 12 years in exile.
The novel deals with some of the large themes of Turkey and the Middle East: the
conflict between West and East, between a secular state and Islamic government,
the problems of poverty, unemployment, the veil, the army, and most of all
suicide. Maybe Snow is the most important novel from modern Turkish
literature.
The main reason to visit Kars is that it is an ideal starting point for a visit to
the medieval metropolis of Ani, the
ancient Armenian capital which is about 45 km away. Ani, once a major city of
100,000 inhabitants and renown for its wealths, is one of the highlights of
Eastern Turkey.
We stayed at the Güngören Oteli, Halit Paşa Mahallesi, (Tel. +90
(474) 223 81 13). The rooms are really a bit off, taking a shower is sometimes
quite an adventure, but the restaurant is excellent with
a very friendly manager. Breakfast is served with Kars' honey and a mountain of
excellent butter. Also for dining, the ocakbaşı (grill) at the restaurant is worth a try.
For a cool drink you'll be surprised by the, for Turkish standards, large number
of pubs in Kars. If you want to buy postcards, a rarity in Eastern Turkey,
go to the Hotel Karabağ. The reception desk sells acceptable
postcards with a small label of the hotel on them.
Click on the thumbnails to get a greater picture
