A frontier city of Russian-era stone mansions on the high plateau, and the haunting ruins of a medieval Armenian capital on the gorge that marks the border.
Last reviewed on 27 September 2026.
Kars sits on a high, treeless plateau in north-eastern Eastern Anatolia, at around 1,750 metres, near the borders with Armenia and Georgia. It is a cold, windswept, rather austere city with a unique look: grid-planned streets of grey basalt buildings put up during four decades of Russian rule, overlooked by a medieval castle. Most visitors come for Ani, the ruined capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom about 45 km to the east, standing on the edge of the gorge that forms the border. Increasing numbers also arrive on the long-distance Doğu Ekspresi train, which has become a travel phenomenon in Türkiye in its own right. Winter here is severe, and that is part of the appeal: frozen Çıldır Lake, horse-drawn sleighs and goose roasted for the cold months.
Kars has changed hands more often than most cities. In the 10th century it was briefly the capital of an Armenian Bagratid kingdom, before the royal seat moved to Ani. It fell to the Seljuks in the 11th century, was sacked by the Mongols and by Timur, and was rebuilt by the Ottomans in the 16th century as a fortress against Safavid Persia. Russia besieged it several times in the 19th century and took it in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78; the Treaty of Berlin confirmed Russian possession, and Kars remained part of the Russian Empire until the First World War and the Russian revolutions. After a turbulent period of Ottoman, Armenian and Turkish control, the Treaty of Kars in 1921 fixed the present border between Türkiye and the Soviet republics of the South Caucasus. Russian rule brought settlers, including Molokans and other dissenting Christian groups, and also Baltic Germans and Poles, some of whom left traces on the city's architecture and food. The Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk set his novel Snow (Kar) here.
Between 1878 and 1918 the Russians laid out a new town south of the old quarter on a regular grid, with wide streets and solid, symmetrical buildings of dressed basalt and limestone: administrative offices, officers' houses, schools, banks and churches. The style is usually described locally as Baltic architecture, reflecting the Baltic German engineers and designers associated with it. Walk the streets around Atatürk Caddesi and Faikbey Caddesi to see the best examples; several have been restored as hotels, government offices and cafés. The Fethiye Mosque was originally built as a Russian Orthodox church in the early 20th century and converted into a mosque; its outline still betrays its origin. Some old houses have been restored, others stand empty, and the mix is part of the atmosphere.
Kars Castle (Kars Kalesi) crowns the basalt hill on the north side of the city above the Kars river. Fortifications here go back to the medieval period; the present walls are largely the Ottoman rebuilding of the late 16th century, repaired after the 19th-century sieges. The climb is short and the views over the city and plateau are the best in Kars. Below the castle, the stone Taşköprü (Stone Bridge), dating in its present form to the early 18th century, crosses the river beside old bathhouses and the tomb of the Sufi saint Ebul Hasan Harakani, a place of local pilgrimage.
Near the bridge stands the Church of the Holy Apostles, built in the 10th century, generally dated to the 930s–940s, under the Bagratid king Abas I, when Kars was his capital. It is a compact, centrally planned church with a conical-roofed drum; around the drum are relief figures usually identified as the twelve apostles, which gave the building its name. After the Seljuk conquest it was converted into a mosque, became a church again under Russian rule, served as a museum in the Republican period and has been used as a mosque, the Kümbet Camii, since the 1990s. Visit outside prayer times and dress accordingly.
The Kars Museum, on the eastern edge of the city, has archaeological finds from the region, ethnographic displays of local dress, carpets and kilims, and material relating to the Russian period; it is useful for context before Ani.
Ani stands on a triangular plateau about 45 km east of Kars, bounded on one side by the deep gorge of the Arpaçay (Akhurian) river, which is the border with Armenia. In the late 10th and early 11th centuries it was the capital of the Bagratid Armenian kingdom and one of the great cities of the region, straddling trade routes between Byzantium, Persia and the Caucasus. Its many churches earned it the nickname "city of 1,001 churches". It was taken by the Byzantines, then by the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan in 1064, and later governed by the Kurdish Shaddadid dynasty and by Georgian rulers. Mongol conquest in the 13th century, a severe earthquake in the early 14th century and the shift of trade routes led to its slow decline and eventual abandonment. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016.
You enter through the Aslanlı Kapı (Lion Gate) in the long double walls on the landward side, then walk across a wide, grassy plateau from monument to monument. Allow at least three hours; there is almost no shade and much of the site is exposed to the wind.
Completed around 1001 and attributed to the architect Trdat, who also repaired the dome of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople after an earthquake. Its dome has fallen, but the tall walls, pointed arches and clustered piers are remarkable for their date.
A church of 1215 built by the merchant Tigran Honents, on the edge of the gorge. It keeps the best-preserved wall paintings at Ani, with scenes from the life of St Gregory the Illuminator and of Christ, and fine exterior carving.
Usually attributed to the Shaddadid ruler Manuchihr in the late 11th century and often described as one of the earliest Turkish-era mosques in Anatolia, with a tall octagonal minaret over the gorge.
Other highlights include the Church of the Redeemer, a circular church of the 1030s that was sliced in half by a lightning strike and storm in 1957, leaving a dramatic cross-section; the round Church of St Gregory of Abughamrents; the remains of a Zoroastrian fire temple; the Seljuk palace area; and the citadel mound (İçkale) at the southern tip. Several monuments have undergone restoration in recent years, and some areas are fenced off while work continues.
There is no regular public transport to Ani. Most visitors take a taxi from Kars, which will wait while you visit, or join a shared minibus arranged through hotels. A hired car gives more flexibility.
The Doğu Ekspresi (Eastern Express) runs between Ankara and Kars through Kayseri, Sivas, Erzincan and Erzurum. The journey takes roughly a day and a night — over 24 hours — through steppe, gorges and, in winter, deep snow. It became hugely popular with young Turkish travellers in the late 2010s, who post photographs of snowbound landscapes from their sleeper compartments.
To meet demand, Turkish State Railways (TCDD) added the Turistik Doğu Ekspresi in 2019. It is a sleeper-only service, run seasonally (mainly in winter), with scheduled stops of a few hours at places along the route such as İliç, Erzincan and Erzurum so passengers can sightsee. Both trains sell out quickly, particularly the tourist service, and tickets are released only a limited time in advance; check timetables, fares and booking rules on the official TCDD Taşımacılık website or app, as they change from season to season. Many travellers take the train one way and fly the other.
Kars's high pastures support large herds of cattle, and the city is famous for dairy. Kars gravyeri is a hard, Gruyère-style cheese with holes, a tradition generally traced to Swiss cheesemakers brought to the region in the Russian period; Kars kaşarı, especially aged (eski kaşar), is equally prized. Cheese shops in the city centre offer tastings and vacuum-pack cheese for travel. Local flower honey is another speciality.
The signature dish is goose (kaz). Geese are raised through the summer, slaughtered in late autumn, and traditionally salted and air-dried to last the winter. Roast goose served on bulgur pilaf is the classic winter meal, and several restaurants specialise in it. Look also for hangel, a pasta-like dish with yoghurt and melted butter, and for Kars's version of piti, a mutton and chickpea stew associated with the Caucasus.
Çıldır Lake, north of Kars in Ardahan province, freezes over in the depths of winter, usually from around December or January into early spring. Local fishermen cut holes in the ice and drag nets underneath, and horse-drawn sleighs (atlı kızak) take visitors across the frozen surface. It is typically combined with a day trip from Kars by car or tour. Only go out on the ice where locals and organised sleighs are operating; ice conditions vary from year to year and with thaws.
For skiers, Sarıkamış, south-west of Kars and on the railway, is a ski resort known for dry powder snow and Scots pine forest. The town is also remembered for the Battle of Sarıkamış in the winter of 1914–15, when an Ottoman offensive against Russian forces ended in catastrophic losses, many from cold; memorials commemorate it.
Kars has one of the harshest climates in Türkiye. Winters are long, snowy and bitterly cold, with night temperatures well below −20°C in cold spells; the snow season runs roughly from November to March or April. Summers are short and mild, with pleasant days and cool nights, and the plateau turns green with flowers in June. Summer and early autumn (June to September) are best for Ani, which is exposed and shadeless but not hot. Winter is the season for the train, Çıldır Lake and Sarıkamış — bring serious cold-weather clothing, including hat, gloves and boots with grip.
Kars Harakani Airport, just south of the city, has domestic flights, chiefly to Istanbul and Ankara. Besides the trains, long-distance buses connect Kars with Erzurum, Trabzon and the rest of the country. The Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway links the city to Georgia and Azerbaijan, though passenger services on it have been limited; check the current situation. The centre of Kars is compact and walkable. For Ani, Çıldır and Sarıkamış, use taxis, tours or a hired car. Kars also works as the northern end of an eastern route via Doğubayazıt and Mount Ararat to Van. See getting around Türkiye.
Ani is about 45 km east of Kars. There is no regular public transport, so most visitors take a taxi that waits while they visit, a shared minibus arranged through hotels, or a hired car. Allow at least three hours at the site itself.
Kars was part of the Russian Empire from 1878, after the Russo-Turkish War, until the end of the First World War. The Russians laid out a new grid-planned town with solid basalt buildings, often called Baltic style locally, and many of them still stand.
The Turistik Doğu Ekspresi is a seasonal sleeper-only train between Ankara and Kars, introduced by Turkish State Railways in 2019. Unlike the regular Doğu Ekspresi it makes sightseeing stops of a few hours along the route. Tickets sell out fast, so check the official TCDD booking channels as soon as sales open.
Yes. Ani stands on the edge of the Arpaçay gorge, which forms the border between Turkey and Armenia, and you can see Armenian villages on the far side. The border has been closed since 1993, so it cannot be crossed there. Stay on the paths and do not enter the gorge.
June to September is best for Ani, when the plateau is green and days are mild. Winter, from roughly December to March, is the season for the Doğu Ekspresi, the frozen Çıldır Lake and skiing at Sarıkamış, but temperatures can fall well below −20°C.
Kars is known for its dairy, especially Kars gravyeri, a Gruyère-style cheese, and aged kaşar, as well as local honey. The signature dish is goose, raised in summer, air-dried for winter and served roasted on bulgur pilaf.