Kars is a city in Eastern Anatolia with a population of 91,500 in 2022. The main reason to visit is the Armenian ruined city of Ani, and Kars town itself has several attractions.
Understand
[edit]Kars is in the far northeast of Turkey, near the borders with Georgia and Armenia. It's been battled over repeatedly down the centuries but what marks its landscape now are the conflicts with Russia and with the Armenians. Russia muscled in on Ottoman territory since the time of Catherine the Great, and western powers tried to check this by supporting Turkey, notably during the Crimea War. They had limited success and much of the Caucasus came under Tsarist control. Russia captured Kars in 1878 and held it until 1920, building a modern city on a grid pattern. This area had been an Armenian kingdom in medieval times, and ethnic Armenians preferred the Russians to the Turks: pretext for the genocide against them in 1915.
Kars is at an altitude of 1800 m and even in summer the nights are cold. Winter nights often plunge below -25°C and the snow lies thick. Kar is Turkish for snow - it's probably not the origin of the town's name, but one reason that Orhan Pamuk's 2002 novel Snow (ISBN 0-375-70686-0) is set here. It follows an expat poet returning to town, getting embroiled in the tensions between western thought and Islamic radicals, and of course the town gets cut off by snow so everyone is trapped together.
Get in
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By plane
[edit]1 Kars Harakani Airport 
(KSY IATA) has daily flights from Istanbul (both IST and SAW) and Ankara, and several days a week from Izmir. It's reasonably clean and efficient, with the usual facilities including car hire. It's only 6 km south of the city, taxis and dolmuşes will take you downtown.
By road
[edit]Highway E80 traverses the country from the Bulgarian border via Istanbul, Ankara, Erzincan and Erzurum. Branch at Horosan onto E691 for Kars, while E80 continues east to Doğubeyazıt and the border with Iran. From Ankara is 1100 km, about 13 hours driving.
By bus
[edit]Buses from Istanbul run twice a day and take 21 hours via Gebze, Bolu, Erzincan and Erzurum. One bus a day is from Izmir via Ankara, Erzincan and Erzurum. The main bus line from the west is Kamil Koç, now part of Flixbus.
Yesil Artvin Ekspres runs daily from Rize on the Black Sea coast, via Hopa on the Georgian border, Artvin and Ardahan.
2 Kars Inter-city Bus Terminal opened on 30 Oct 2025. It's off D965 bypass just north of the airport, 5 km from the centre.
3 City Bus Station downtown is where a dolmuş might bring you instead.
Don't follow outdated directions to the old bus station northeast of town where the main boulevard rejoins D965. It's the abode of weeds, stray dogs and the undead.
By train
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Doğu Express departs Ankara daily at 18:00, reaching Kars 26 hours later. The return train leaves at 08:00. There are couchettes and a buffet but no sleeping car. Main stops along the route are Kayseri, Sivas, Erzincan and Erzurum. For times and online tickets see TCDD
A more expensive tourist version of this train runs three times a week Dec-March. It makes long stops for sightseeing eastbound at İliç (for Kemaliye), Erzincan and Erzurum; the westbound train makes long stops at Divriği and Bostankaya. Total travel time Ankara-Kars is 30 hours, and you're tied to the train schedule without flexibility of stopover. The accommodation is in standard sleeping cars, which have been purloined from the conventional train, so the travel experience on that has been degraded. Tickets go on sale 30 days in advance and are instantly snapped up by scalpers, so realistically you'll have to buy through a travel agency.
A regional train runs twice a day from Akyaka near the border with Armenia, taking an hour. This used to be the railway to Gyumri, but there is no longer a border crossing.
The railway via Kars to Georgia and Azerbaijan opened in 2017 for freight, but to date TCDD are incapable of organising a passenger service. The shiny new train sets bought (with some fanfare) for this service are gathering rust and graffiti on a siding somewhere.
4 Kars railway station is 1 km east of city centre. Taxis wait outside.
Get around
[edit]Most sights of interest are in a small walkable area around the castle and Kümbet mosque.
The tourist bus to Ani leaves from Faik Bey Cd at the intersection of Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Paşa Cd. It sets off around 08:30 to 09:00, takes an hour, and sets off back at 12:45.
See
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- Downtown was laid out on a grid during the Russian occupation of 1878-1918. Here and there are black basalt townhouses in what's called "Baltic style", especially to the southwest, but mostly it's late 20th century tat.
- 1 Kars Castle. Daily 09:00-17:00. The castle or citadel was built from 1153: it's been destroyed on several occasions but restored. Approach up the cobbled track from the south. Within is a small mosque, and the reconstructed tomb of Kahraman Celal Baba, a mythical 13th century hero against the Mongol invasion. There's not much else within but you get a view of the city. The mausoleum at the foot of castle hill by Taş Köprü is for two other fallen defenders. Free.
- Vaizoğlu Mosque at the foot of castle hill was first built in 1580. It's been wrecked and restored several times, with the last rebuild in 1976.
- 2 Taş Köprü means "stone bridge". It's a three-arch bridge 53.5 m long and 8.40 m wide, crossing the river south of the castle. It was built in 1579 and still carries traffic. It's bracketed by two hamams, neither in use. İlbeyoğlu Muradiye Hamam on the north bank was built in 1774 AD, Cuma Hamam on the south bank in 1863.
- Namık Kemal's House is just south of the bridge. He was a 19th century journalist and political activist who stayed here awhile, then legged it before the authorities could whack him. The house is now an annexe for the city council, no tours.
- Mazlum Ağa Hamam just south of Namık Kemal's House is 18th century. It's not in use.
- 3 Kümbet Mosque (Church of the Apostles). Built as an Armenian church circa 930 AD, it was probably abandoned in 1046 when the Seljuks took over - they may have used it as a mosque. It was certainly a mosque after the Ottomans captured the city in 1579 and made it part of the Evliya complex. The Russians reverted it to an Orthodox church in 1877, but when they withdrew it was back-and-forth between mosque and church as the frontier shifted. In the 1960s it housed the city museum, until that moved edge-of-town. It's again been a mosque since 1993.
- Evliya Mosque was built from 1579 just south of Kümbet Mosque. The mausoleum adjacent is the tomb of Abu al-Hassan al-Kharaqani (963-1033 AD), a Sufi teacher.
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- Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami) is just north of Kümbet Mosque. It was built in 1643 AD but wrecked by war and earthquakes in the 19th / 20th century. It was rebuilt as a mosque in 1997.
- 4 Fethiye Mosque, İsmet İnönü Cd 47. Built by the Russians in 1885 as the Alexander Nevsky barracks and church, it was later converted to a mosque by adding two minarets.
- Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Paşa Mansion is a small museum in the home of a commander in the war of 1877/78. It's seldom open.
- Yusuf Paşa Mosque at Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Paşa Cd 8 was built in 1710 AD and refurbished in the 19th century.
- 5 Cheese Museum is by the river on Şener Sk, open daily 09:00-18:00. It's in one of the 18th / 19th century bastions that ring the city.
- 6 Military History Museum of the Caucasus Front (Kafkas Cephesi Harp Tarihi Müzesi), Azat Çk, ☏ +90 474 212 3817. Tu-Su 08:00-16:30. This bastion was built in 1803 to protect the city from the south, which it failed to do: in 1828 the Russians raided it and slaughtered the entire garrison. It's now a branch of Kars Museum exhibiting the Caucasus conflict, signage is only in Turkish. Free.
- 7 Kars Museum, Cumhuriyet Cd 385, ☏ +90 474 212 3817. Tu-Su 08:00-17:00. Covering the city's history and pre-history. The garden has a good array of statues. Free.
Do
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- Hamams are traditional Turkish baths. The historic bathhouses have closed down. Anadolu Hamamı is modern and still in use on Karadağ Cd downtown.
- Football: Karsspor play soccer down in the amateur leagues at Şehir Stadium, 100 m south of Grand Ani Hotel.
Buy
[edit]Small supermarkets are strung along Atatürk Cd downtown, trading daily 09:00-21:00 or longer.
Kars Bazaar at Atatürk Cd 107 has a pleasant tea-shop.
Eat
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Kars cheese was introduced by the Swiss and is called gravyer, for Gruyère, but more resembles Emmental.
Kaz is goose, usually in a stew.
Eating places are dotted along Atatürk Cd downtown.
Drink
[edit]No bars in Kars. Cafes may serve alcohol.
Sleep
[edit]- Ahmet Yılmaz is a very basic place next to the bus station at Küçük Kazım Bey Cd 74.
- 1 Hotel Kent, Bakırcılar Cd, ☏ +90 474 223 1929. Boxy central hotel with small but clean comfy rooms. B&B double 2000 TL.
- 2 Hotel Temel, Yeni Pazar Cd 18, ☏ +90 474 223 1376. Clean rooms, some with a view. Central spot near the castle.
- 3 Kars Otel, Halit Paşa Cd 33, ☏ +90 474 212 1616. Pleasant hotel in an old Russian building, with 12 spacious rooms. B&B double 4000 TL.
- 4 Otel Ipekyolu, Faik Bey Cd 47, ☏ +90 474 223 7373. Simple but efficient hotel, may have parking.
- 5 Grand Ani Hotel, Haydar Aliyev Cd 91, ☏ +90 474 223 7500. Smart slick comfy hotel. B&B double 4000 TL.
Connect
[edit]As of Dec 2025, Kars has 4G from all Turkish carriers, but the signal is very patchy on the highways to town. 5G has not yet rolled out in Turkey.
Go next
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- Ani is the ruins of an ancient Armenian city, 45 km east on the border with Armenia. You can't stay overnight, a 2 hour visit suffices, take the daily tourist bus as above.
- Sarıkamış is a winter sports resort 60 km southwest of Kars.
- Ardahan has limited attractions, but is the base for Lake Çıldır, with horse-drawn sleigh rides in winter.
- Batumi on the Black Sea coast is the first substantial town you reach in Georgia.
- Kars, Ontario is 50 km south of Ottawa. It's named for General Sir William Fenwick Williams from Nova Scotia, who defended Kars during the Crimea War.
| Routes through Kars |
 Türkgözü/Vale ← Ardahan ←
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N  S
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→ Horasan → Ends at  (W  E)
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| Ankara ← Erzurum ← | W  E
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→ END |