Kars

File:Kars kalesi 2.gif

Kars Citadel and Apostles church

Kars (Armenian: Ղարս or Կարս, Kurdish: Qers, Azeri: Qars) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of the Kars Province, formerly at the head of a sanjak in the Turkish vilayet of Erzurum. It is situated in 40°37′N 43°6′E. Population: 8,672 (1878); 20,891 (1897); 54,000 (1970); 142,145 (1990); 130,361 (2000).

History

File:Kars1917(2ndupload).jpg

A hand drawn illustration of Kars in 1917 by an Armenian. The river which led to Erzurum can be seen on the upper left. On the upper right can be seen three red domed structures, marked by a number one, which are outdoor lavatories. The citadel can be seen on the right. Note the two large domed Armenian churches in the middle and lower section of the picture.

In the 10th century the region surrounding Kars was an Armenian Kingdom, ruled by the Bagratid family. Later on, Kars was captured by the Seljuk Turks, by the Mongols in the 13th century, and by Timur (Tamerlane) in 1387. The city later permanently went under Ottoman rule until 1877. The citadel built by Ottoman Sultan Murad III was strong enough to withstand a siege by Nadir Shah of Persia, in 1731, and in 1807 it successfully resisted the Russians. After a brave defence it surrendered on June 23, 1828 to the Russian general Count Ivan Paskevich, 11,000 men becoming prisoners of war. During the Crimean War the Turkish garrison, guided by General William Fenwick Williams and other foreign officers, kept the Russians at bay during a protracted siege; but after the garrison had been devastated by cholera and food had utterly failed, nothing was left but to capitulate in November of 1855. The fortress was again stormed by the Russians in the Battle of Kars during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78 under generals Loris-Melikov and Lazarev Ivan Davidovich and on its conclusion was transferred to Russia by the Treaty of San Stefano.

Armenian civilians fleeing Kars after being forced to leave their homes circa 1920-1921.

Russia lost Kars, Ardahan and Batum by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918. The Turks took back control in Kars on April 25, 1918 and the Republic of Southwest Caucasus was established in the zone, but when the armistice of Mudros (October 1918) was established the Ottoman army withdrew to the frontiers of 1914. The British occupied Batum but the Ottomans refused to relinquish Kars; its military governor constituted a provisional government led by Fahrettin Pirioglu that claimed Turkish sovereignty over Kars and the Turkish-speaking and Islamic neighbouring regions to Batum and Gumru (Alexandropol). The region was occupied by Armenia in January 1919 but the pro-Turkish government was supported in the city of Kars until the arrival of the British troops, who dissolved it on April 19 1919, sending its leaders to Malta. Kars was given to Armenia together with Iğdır in May 1919. The Turkish-Armenian war of September-December/1920, and the fall of the First Republic resulted in the treaty of Alexandropol signed by the representatives of Armenia and Turkey on December 2 1920, in accordance with which Armenia was to give up all the territories granted to her by the treaty of Sevres and to cede to Turkey about 60 per cent of her prewar territory including Kars.

Following the Turkish War of Independence, Turkey signed the Treaty of Kars (October 23, 1921) with the Soviet Union in which Turkey relinquished claims to Batum in return for sovereignty over Kars and Ardahan. The government of Armenia to the present day, does not officially recognize the current border. The borders as defined by the treaty of Kars, are far from been fair from the point of view of Armenian nationalists many of whom still consider the Treaty of Sevres as the basis for the resolution of Armenian-Turkish animosity. The Soviets attempted to negotiate with Turkey to at least allow them access to the ancient ruins of Ani. However, Ankara rufused these attempts and the border between Armenia and Turkey has remained unchanged for nearly a century. Since the Nagorno-Karabakh War, the borders between Armenia and Turkey have been closed in retaliation for Armenia's occupation of Karabakh. Kars Mayor Naif Alibeyoğlu, believes that the border should be opened again and that there should be no nationalist sentiment against the Armenians. [1]

Kars Citadel

Kars Citadel

As a city at the juncture of Armenian, Caucasian, Russian, and Turkish cultures, the buildings of Kars come in a variety of architectures. Kars Castle (Kars Kalesi) also known as the Kars citadel) sits atop a rocky hill overlooking Kars. Its walls date back to the Bagratid Armenian period (there is surviving masonry on the north side of the castle) but it probably took on its present form during the 13th century when Kars was ruled by the Zakarid dynasty. The walls bear crosses in several places, including a khachkar with a building inscription in Armenian on the easternmost tower, so the much repeated mantra that Kars kastle was built by Ottoman Sultan Murad III during the war with Persia, at the close of the 16th century is false. However, Sultan Murad probably did reconstruct much of the city walls (they are similar to those that the Ottoman army constructed at Ardahan). At the foot of the plateau is St. Arak'elos Cathedral, or the Church of the Apostles. Built in the 10th century, it constitutes a domed tetraconch atop a square base with four apses. The drum of the dome features bas relief depictions of The Twelve Apostles and the dome itself is covered by a conical roof. It housed a small museum in the 1960s and 1970s, then stood derelict for about two decades until its conversion into a mosque in 1998.

Kars in popular culture

• Kars is the setting of the novel 'Kar' ('Snow') by famous Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk.
• The Armenian poet Yeghishe Charents was born in Kars.
• The philosopher and mystic G. I. Gurdjieff grew up in Kars.
• Famous Turkish actress Hulya Avsar has a familial relation with Kars.
• Famous Turkish actor Tamer Karadagli was born in Kars.

External links

• Kars Governor's Office
• Kars Guide and Photo Album by Luc Wouters
• Kars Weather Forecast Information
• Treaty of Kars
• Atlas of Conflicts: The Treaty of Kars and Its Geopolitical Implications on Armenia by Dr. Andrew Andersen, Ph.D.
• VirtualANI - A history and description of the city of Kars
• Pictures of the city and the nearby city of Ani
• Armenian History and Presence in Kars

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)