Top 10 best tourist places in Kars, Turkey

By We Find You Go - 2017-03-29

Kars is a northeastern city of Turkey near Armenian border on a plateau of Anatolia. Kars city has a lot of history with armenians and russians as its historical landmarks tell all the stories. It’s light colored stone building demonstrates from the 19th-century, russian livelihood and its efficient grid plan. Kars seems like a piece of russia teleported to the northeastern part of Turkey. Kars’s blend of powers like kurdish, armenian, turkish, azeri and russian adjoins to its diverse experience. Visiting here is worth the time spent while exploring some amazing and fascinating sights.

10) Church of the Holy Apostles

The Holy Apostles Church, also known as the Cathedral of Kars, as in past was used to be an armenian church. It was constructed in the middle age of 10th century by the armenian Bagratid king. The church went through a lot of changes in terms of its transformation. Later it was transformed into a mosque in 1579 by Ottoman Turks. In the 19th century, it was renewed into a russian orthodox and then again an armenian cathedral. It also worked as “Kars Museum” between 1964 and 1978 but then the museum shifted back to its new site. In 1993 it was again transformed into a mosque and is now called Kumbet Mosque. Right now the church is a part of a superior Islamic complex. The church has sculpture carved exterior and interior walls of the building which makes it a lovely place to visit.

9) Castle of Kars

Carry water to drink and get your knees ready for a small climb because the finest way to value the Kars Castle is to overcome the steppe and to see the Kars Kalesi face to face. “Kars Kalesi” is the second name of this place as it is an identical name in the province of Kars. Vizier Firuz Akay completed the construction of the castle in 1153 upon an order of the Saltuk Sultan Malik Izzeddin. By the help of one hundreds thousands of labors and soldiers this castle was built and it was linked to the city walls which were constructed approximately at the same time. It was manufactured on a hill in a curvature in Kars River with an obtaining sight above the city. The castle had 22 towers previously from which only 7 towers are left today. The castle used to have 4 functional gates of which 2 are still in a working condition. Within the castle, there is a vault of a Jelal Baba, ruins of Janissary quarters, a missiles warehouse and al mosque that was restructured in the 1990’s.

8) The Ancient Ghost City of Ani

On the Turkish-Armenian boundary, speckled in the plains amongst the wildflowers, are the breakdown relics of a once powerful city. In the 11th century, Ani was the residence to 100,000 people. Ani was the capital city of Bagradit Armenian kingdom was and recognized as a sovereign state in 884. Ani faced a lot of attacks and wars over the centuries and each time it was overcome by many different empires. Finally in 1920, Ani was captured by Turkish forces under the authority of Kâzım Karabekir. Karabekir unnoticed a command from a government to level the damages. The city of 1001 churches and city of forty gates, Ani has nothing but structures. The recent improvements in 2010, Ani was recognized by the “Global Monument Fund” in report but the Ani has endangered world heritage sites.

7) Sarikamis Skiing Center

Sarikamis is basically a small town near a valley surrounded by mountains in the Kars province. Every year, the town hosts a skiing event that attracts many tourists from all over the world. The Sarikamis skiing center is 50km away from Kars, situated in the eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The center is surrounded by a small hill covered in snow and pine forest. The season of the skiing starts from October till May. For snowboarding and skiing, there are 14km of slopes available. There are 4 lifts that are used to transport the guests. The winter sports area is positioned at the altitude of 2,160 meters and 2,634 meters (474 m difference).

6) Kars Museum

Kars museum has a fascinating collection of nations and civilizations. Established in 1959, the museum has been lived and developed for over 25000 BC till now. The museum has been shifted twice before the move to its present place. The museum has archaeological displays from the early bronze age from the city of Ani, the roman and Urartu periods and also from the Ottoman and Seljuk eras. Upstairs exhibits some fine old woven rugs and Ottoman kaftans. There are tombstones of rams, lambs, and sheep used by the old “Oguz Turks” and another ethnic group. There are written tablets and architectural parts that belong to the Seljuks and Ottomans are exhibits in the garden of the museum.

5) Ani Oren Hammam

Ani Oren Hammam is a historical landmark positioned 100m south situated on the northern side of Arpacay in the area where Arpacayla and Tatarcik are combined. The bath was made in the early time period of Seljuk. Seljuk architectural style hammam was made of four ivans and four halved chambers with the entrance of piercing arches. The ivans are enclosed with barrel leap arches. The access to the bath is on the west way and the corridor shows the way to the locker rooms. In addition, there is warmness in the north of this corridor. To visit here there are buses organized twice in a day, by the directorate of culture and tourism.

4) Statue of Humanity

The statue of humanity seems like a good sign, when a previous mayor of Kars decided in 2006 to construct a massive sculpture as a gesture of peace from Turkey to Armenia. The 100-foot tall sculpture encircled by the wooden scaffolding and is incorporated a giant hand with an open palm and facing in the direction of Armenia. The hand shows to serve up as a call for friendship and kindness. Commonly known as, “Hand of Friendship,” this hand was intended to join the two human personalities. In 2010, the monument wasn’t completed unfortunately and left unfinished because of opposition party interference though it was considered a good call for the people of both countries.

3) Lake Aygir

Lake Aygır is situated 45 km in the northeastern of Kars city, Turkey. The lake is surrounded by a beautiful green valley. The foliage of valley and crystallized color of lake complement each other. To see that mother nature, the best time to visit Lake Aygir is from April to October. If you wish to visit in a cold and icy condition, then November to March might be the best time to visit because during these months ,the valley is covered with snow and the lake is probably frozen. Sometimes in November to March, unexpected climate situations cause the daily life of villagers and no availability of cell phones signals, restricted broadcasting along with no internet availability.

2) Jeep Safari and Off Road

Looking for something adventurous in Turkey? A jeep safari and off road driving is one of the wonderful adrenalin journeys towards mountains to ascertain real beauty around Kars, Turkey. You will love the dazzling sights, valleys, waterfalls and untouched nature on your jeeps drove by skilled drivers. If you are a scenery lover, that’s your best chance to find out the foliage of Kars Turkey in which you can see the off road. When it comes to holidays in Kars Turkey, you can have the Jeep Safari at the lowest prices. They also offer hiking, rock climbing, safari biking, hunting, cycling, canyoning, ATV quad bike and many more things to enjoy at these beautiful places.

1) Fethiye Mosque

Fethiye Mosque in Kars center was constructed as a church by the russians in early 11th century but later on, it was changed into a mosque. It was made of cut stone in a rectangular diagram. There are two sections on the right and left side of the mosque. In this segment, it is raised by the six steps staircase, gates are offered between columns to grant the entrance to the interior. On the roof sections above the southern and northern doors, deaf strap in the appearance of alfalfa leaves and piercing are arched that are unsuited with the architecture of that period also offers a tremendously moving look on the frontage.