Ardahan

Ardahan
Town
Location of Ardahan within Turkey.
Country	Turkey
Region	blacksea
Province	Ardahan
Elevation	1,900 m (6,200 ft)
Population
• Total	17,274
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	75xxx
Area code	(0090)+ 478
Licence plate	75

Ardahan (Armenian: Արդահան; Russian: Ардаган; Georgian: არტაანი) is a city in north-eastern Turkey on the Georgian border.

(See Ardahan Province for more information about the surrounding district and the history of the area).

Life in Ardahan

Ardahan is the smallest provincial capital in Turkey and, until 1993, was a small town in the province of Kars. Since the district was made a province there has been new investment in government buildings and services but life in mountains that spend half the year under snow is still a struggle. There are hotels mainly used by truck drivers and other travellers crossing into Georgia.

Kars Kafkas University has an institute in Ardahan and there is a sizeable military presence. The civil servants, academics and military officers stationed here all help to support the local economy. These people have their own clubs and guest houses, while in the town itself there are few social and cultural amenities apart from two or three cake shops and a kebab restaurant. Shopping is also limited.

This area is renowned for its hard yellow cheese kaşar and its geese.

Significant Days

Local Days of Celebration

• Freedom Day - 23 February
• Commemoration day for Çanakkale Victory - 18 March
• Commemoration day for Air Force Martyrs - 21 March
• Seljuq Conquest of Ardahan - 24 June
• Ram Introduction - 10 October

Festivals

• Festival of Animals and Animal Products - 20 August
• Goose Festival - 18 November

Well-known residents

• Nuray Hafiftaş