Kars

Most people think of Kars as a remote frontier post, the bitter end of Eastern Turkey, but I like it. It's got interesting things to see, do and eat.

Most people--at least foreigners--also mispronounce its name. It's KARSS (rhymes with 'farce' and 'sparse'), not 'karze.' Now that that's settled...

Kars (alt. 1768 meters, 5800 feet, pop. 90,000), set on its high, chill plateau beneath a steel-grey sky, dominated by its stolid, forbidding citadel, does not immediately endear itself to the visitor, but give it a chance.

It holds an odd mix of interesting things to see: the Armenian Church of the Apostles (937 AD), the 15th-century Ottoman Stone Bridge (Tas Köprü), the grim Citadel (1579), a 19th-century Russian cathedral, and a good local museum.

The region produces some of Turkey's best butter and honey, and thick, rough but appealing carpets made with wool of different natural colors.

But most people come to Kars on the way to the ruins of Ani, the great medieval Armenian capital 45 km (28 miles) to the east on the Turkish-Armenian frontier.

You'll have to spend at least one night in Kars. Don't expect much from its hotels, though they can do for a night.

Kars is served by air, bus and train. Turkish Airlines has several flights weekly from Ankara to Kars, but many travelers fly to Erzurum instead and rent a car or take a bus to Kars. Virtually all long-distance bus service is via Erzurum. Minibuses will take you to Ardahan, Igdir or Sarikamis. To get to Yusufeli in the Kaçkar Mountains without your own car, you'll need to go via Erzurum.

Click here for info about crossing the border at Posof into Georgia.

Although the Dogu (Eastern) Express train travels to and from Istanbul several times per week, bus and plane are far faster. If you do go by train, it's a better idea to catch the train at Erzurum, and to reserve a place in a sleeping car.

By the way, Imperial Russia tried to grab eastern Turkish territory for centuries, and actually did grab Kars in 1878 and held it until 1920, which accounts for Kars's Russian-style buildings.