Lost cities of Western Armenia: Kars is a ghost town, a city of myth. Capture of the Kars fortress during the Russian-Turkish War 1877–1878 Kars fortress Russian-Turkish war map
The first mentions of the city of Kars appear in Armenian and Byzantine chronicles starting from the 9th century. From 928 to 961 the city was the capital of the Armenian Bagratid kingdom, from 963 to 1065 - of the Armenian Kars kingdom. Kars played an important role in the life of medieval Armenia; it was a major center of crafts and trade, through which trade routes passed.
From hand to hand
For centuries, Kars belonged to Byzantium, Turkey, Georgia, Russia and Armenia. In 1064, the Kars kingdom was annexed by Byzantium, later conquered by the Seljuks (a branch of the Oghuz from the Kynyk tribe, belonging to the Western Turks. - Ed.). During the period of the Seljuk conquest of the city, the majority of the population were Armenians. In 1206, Kars, together with part of Northern Armenia, was liberated by the Zakaryans (Armenian princely family, Ishkhans of Eastern Armenia) and, as part of their possessions, entered the borders of the Georgian kingdom.
In the 16th century, Kars was captured by Türkiye, which turned it into a stronghold for spreading its influence in Transcaucasia.
During the Russian-Turkish wars of the 19th century, the Kars fortress became one of the main objects of struggle in the Caucasian theater of military operations. In 1828, the city was taken by storm by Russian troops, but according to the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829, it was returned to Turkey.
A new battle for Kars broke out in 1855. The Turkish city garrison under the command of Izmail Pasha capitulated after a five-month siege of the city by Russian troops. However, when the peace treaty was signed, the city was again returned to Turkey.
In November 1877, Kars, as a result of a swift assault, was retaken by Russian troops and, according to the San Stefano Peace Treaty of 1878, went to Russia. In 1878–1917, Kars was the center of the Kars region of the Russian Empire. The outskirts of the city were actively populated by Molokans, Russian settlers.
At the beginning of the 19th century, there were 850 houses in Kars, of which 600 belonged to Armenian families (71%). According to the census of the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century (1897), the population of the city was 20,805 people. Of these, 10,305 (almost 50%) are Armenians, about 27% are Russians, 5% are Poles, 3.5% are Greeks and others, and only 3.7% are Turks.
According to the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty on March 3, 1918, Kars, along with the districts of Batum and Ardagan, ceded to Turkey, most of the city’s population was killed or forced to leave their homes.
After defeat in the First World War, the Turks abandoned Kars, and British troops entered the city. Kars was transferred to the Republic of Armenia, and a significant number of Armenian families returned to their hometown. In 1920, Kars was again occupied by Turkish troops and, according to the Treaty of Kars in 1921, became part of Turkey.
Under pressure from Soviet Russia, the Armenian government was forced to sign an agreement that deprived it of its historical lands. Thus, Kars became a bargaining chip in the struggle for world revolution.
In 1945, the USSR made territorial claims against Turkey, according to which the territory of the former Kars region was to be divided between the Georgian and Armenian SSRs. However, based on changing geopolitical realities and the beginning of the Cold War, the Soviet Union abandoned them in 1953.
The status of the city was finally secured on May 30, 1953, when the USSR officially announced its renunciation of territorial claims to Turkey, including the city of Kars.
Located at an altitude of 1,700 meters above sea level, Kars is one of the coldest cities in the Armenian Highlands; even on summer nights it is cool, if not cold.
Today, 70% of the population of Kars are Kurds. Kars is connected by railway to Istanbul, Ankara, Sivas, Erzurum, Kayseri. A railway is being built to Georgia, forming part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.
There are many historical monuments in Kars that remain from different periods of its existence. First of all, the citadel of Kars, which was considered one of the most impregnable in the Caucasus. The Kars fortress has existed since 1597, as evidenced by the inscription above the fortress gates.
Another cultural monument is the Armenian Church of the Holy Apostles, erected in 932 by King Abas from the Bagratid dynasty. The cathedral shared the fate of all Armenian churches on the territory of the Ottoman Empire and then the Turkish Republic - it was turned into a mosque. Later, the church again became part of the Armenian Church. Today the temple is locked.
Kars is the birthplace of the classic of Armenian literature Yeghishe Charents.
Other attractions of Kars are the Fethiye Mosque, the Tash-Kepru Bridge, named after the city's holy fool, the Vardan Bridge, the ruins of the Armenian quarter, and the famous sulfur baths. The mansions and barracks built during the Russian period of the city's history are well preserved.
The Historical Museum of Kars contains a large number of artifacts. In its vicinity there are many churches, monasteries, and ancient cemeteries. Houses made of black basalt, like those built in Armenia at the beginning of the 20th century, are still preserved here. Some of them have the owners' surnames in Armenian and dates. Almost all of them end in 1921.
The former mayor of the city, Naif Alibeyoglu, a member of the opposition Republican People's Party, advocated the preservation of old Kars, primarily its Armenian part. He was also the initiator of the installation of the “Monument to Humanism”, which was later demolished on the initiative of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan - a sculpture of a man divided into two halves, who extend their hands to each other as a sign of friendship. The monument towered over the fortress as a reminder that the truth is in peace, not in war.
The current mayor belongs to the ruling Justice and Development Party and is doing everything to destroy any traces of the Armenian presence in Kars. Meanwhile, the 6th paragraph of the European Council decision of June 18, 1987 regarding the Armenian genocide in Turkey states: “The Turkish government must show a fair attitude towards the identity, language, religion, culture and historical monuments of the Armenian people; The Council of Europe demands that the remaining historical and architectural monuments located in Turkey be restored."
Department of Culture "NK"
Encyclopaedia of Islam. - E. J. BRILL, 1997. - Vol. IV. - P. 669-670.Under the ruler Abas (reigned 929-51 (De adm. imp., ii, 179)) -and not, as in ibid., i, ch. xliv, under Ashot, who died in 890- Kars became the seat of the Bagratid dynasty. From 962 it served as the capital of the Armenian kingdom of Vanand, which was erected by the ruler of Ani, Ashot III, for his younger brother Mushegh, and his successors (cf. El1, ANI).
(cited from the publication: Konstantin Bagryanorodny. On the management of the empire. M. Nauka. 1991 (translated under the editorship of G. G. Litavrin, A. P. Novoseltsev)[Know] that the archon of the archons sat in Greater Armenia, in the fortress of Kars, and owned both the three above-mentioned fortresses, Perkri, Khaliat and Arzes, and Tiwi, Khert and Salamas.
The Empire did not long enjoy its spoils. Beginning in 1045/6 Armenian was subjected to repeated Seljuq attacks, and in 1064 Ani fell to Alp Arslan. In that year, the King of Kars, Gagik-Abas, ceded his state to the Empire on the usual conditions, but it was snatched by the Turks. A few sovereigns still remained in Armenia.
As indicated already, Armenian formed an important component in a number of cities in Anatolia within the Seljuq sphere, such as Sivas and Kayseri, and constituted the majority in others like Erzincan and Erzurum, as well as in those further east like Ani and Kars.
Later, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Armenian house of the Zachariads (Mkhargrdzeli) ruled in northern Armenia at Ani, Lor’i, Kars, and Dvin under the Georgian aegis.
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Story
It is believed that Kars was founded in the 4th century, although the first written mentions of a city called Kari date back to the 9th century.
In 963-1064. the city was the capital of the Armenian Kars kingdom of the Bagratids and an important trading point on the trade route from Asia Minor to Transcaucasia. Since 1065 it belonged to Byzantium. In 1074 it was captured by the Seljuk Turks, and in 1387 the city was destroyed by Timur's troops. At the end of the 12th century. it is part of the Georgian kingdom.
In 1517, Kars was captured by the Ottomans, and it became part of their empire and a stronghold for the spread of their rule in Transcaucasia. In 1579, under Sultan Murad III, powerful fortifications were erected in the city, turning it into an impregnable fortress.
During the Russian-Turkish wars of the 19th century. Kars was one of the main objects of struggle in the Caucasian theater of military operations. In 1807, Russian troops tried to take the city, but without success. They succeeded in this in 1828, when Kars was captured. Then Kars returned to Turkey under the Treaty of Adrianople.
During the Crimean War in 1855, the Turkish garrison under the command of the English General Williams fought off attacks by Russian troops for almost six months, but capitulated to the threat of starvation, and later the city again became Turkish. In November 1877, after the defeat of Mukhtar Pasha's army at Aladzha, Kars, despite the fact that it had a garrison of thousands under the command of Hussein Pasha, was again taken by the Russian troops of General Loris-Melikov as a result of a swift assault. Only Hussein and a few officers survived. According to the San Stefano Peace Treaty of 1878, Kars went to Russia and for 40 years was the administrative center of the Kars region of the Russian Empire.
In May 1918, after Russia's withdrawal from the First World War, Kars was occupied by Turkish troops under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. After Turkey's defeat in the war and the Mudros Truce of 1918, Kars was occupied by Armenian Dashnak troops with the support of British occupation forces. According to the Treaty of Kars in 1921 with the participation of Soviet Russia, Kars became part of Turkey.
Kars is located on the Armenian Highlands, at an altitude of about 2 km. It lies in an intermountain basin on the right bank of the river of the same name and is the administrative center of the silt of the same name. The state border with Armenia is relatively close.
Currently, the city is an open-air museum, where the features of Armenian, Turkish and Russian cultures are presented in their original form.
During the 40 years that Kars belonged to the Russian Empire, many houses in the classicist style appeared in it, and it acquired its own characteristic appearance, which so clearly distinguishes it from other Turkish cities. That is why the symbol of the city is not the famous citadel of the 10th century. and not dozens of religious buildings of different eras and peoples, but residential and administrative quarters - a copy of Russian and Armenian cities of the late 19th century. These are two- or three-story mansions and barracks, hipped roofs, characteristic cornices, balconies with wrought iron bars, cobblestone streets, gas street lamps (not working for a long time). Many buildings are abandoned and empty.
But some historical buildings were rebuilt in accordance with Islamic traditions. For example, the Church of the Holy Apostles of the first half of the 10th century, built by the Armenian king Abbas I, was converted into the Kumbet-Kamyi mosque in 1978. And the Fethiye Mosque was rebuilt from the Russian Orthodox garrison church of Alexander Nevsky of the 19th century.
The famous citadel of Kars, or Fort Kale, which only Russian troops took by storm three times, is located on a hill above the city. The fortress was almost destroyed during numerous wars; now it is a city park. Local residents come here to venerate the tomb of a 14th-century Muslim saint. Jalal Baba.
On the road to the citadel there is the ancient Tash-Korpu, or “Stone Bridge,” made of basalt. The ruins of several hammam baths are also of historical value, one of which was once visited by the poet Alexander Pushkin on his way to Erzurum.
The Kars Museum with its extensive ethnographic and archaeological exhibition, as well as a large collection of local arts and crafts items, tells about the history of the city.
Currently, Kars is the center of an agricultural region, where dairy farming and sheep farming predominate. The city is famous for its traditions of carpet weaving, as well as the production of clothing and footwear from wool, felt and leather. There is a Turkish Air Force base nearby.
General information
Location : northeast Turkey.
Founded: IV century
Languages: Turkish, Azerbaijani.
Ethnic composition : Turks, Azerbaijanis.
Religion: Islam.
Currency : Turkish lira.
River: Kars.
Numbers
Square: approximately 32 km 2 .
Population: about 118,000 people (2016).
Altitude : 1768 m.
Remoteness: 172 km northeast of Erzurum, 872 km east of Ankara.
Climate and weather
Sharply continental subtropical zone.
Winter is cold and with little snow, summer is short and cool, spring is long, autumn is early.
Average January temperature : -10.3°C.
Average temperature in July : +17.5°C.
Average annual precipitation : 500 mm.
Average annual relative humidity : 70%.
Economy
Center of an agricultural region (dairy farming, sheep farming).
Industry: food (cheese-making, oil-processing).
Traditional crafts : carpet weaving, wool, felt and leather products.
Service sector: tourism, transport, trade.
Attractions
Historical
Kars Fortress (10th century) and the tomb of Saint Jalal Bab (14th century)
Kyumbet Mosque (former Armenian Orthodox Church of the Holy Apostles, 930-937)
"Taşköprü" (Stone Bridge)
Ruins of baths and hammams (XIX century)
Fethiye Mosque (former Russian Orthodox garrison church of Alexander Nevsky, 19th century)
Russian mansions and barracks (late 19th - early 20th centuries)
Cultural
Historical Museum
Curious facts
Presumably, the name of the city comes from the old form Karis-Kalaki, or “city of gates” in Georgian (“kari” - gate, “kalaki” - city).
During the Russian-Turkish wars of the 19th century. Russian troops besieged the city more than 30 times and took it by storm about ten times.
Despite the fact that Kars has been part of Turkey since 1921, the city officially became Turkish on May 30, 1953, when the USSR officially renounced its territorial claims to Turkey and, in particular, to Kars.
Kars is one of the coldest cities in Turkey. In summer, the daytime temperature rises to +24°C, and at night it is 10-15° lower. In winter, the temperature is always below 0°C, and frosts persist until May.
At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, while Kars was part of the Russian Empire, the surrounding area of the city was actively populated by Russian settlers, in particular the Molokans. Two of their villages survive in neighboring Armenia near Vanadzor.
The Russian period in the architecture of the city of Kars is called “Baltic architecture” by the Turks. Presumably, in this way they are trying to avoid public mention of unpleasant periods in their history.
According to the city census conducted in 1897, 10 thousand Armenians, 5 thousand Russians and less than a thousand Turks lived in Kars.
Until the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the Turkish authorities provided virtually no funding for construction in Kars. It was believed that this was useless: in the event of a conflict with the USSR, this territory would be immediately lost. Even the railway from Kars to Erzurum, built by Russian troops for supplies in 1916, continued until the 1970s. remained with the “Russian” broad gauge.
By the time Russian troops forced the Kars garrison to capitulate in 1855, Sevastopol had fallen to the British and Allies. Subsequently, according to the Paris Peace Treaty, Sevastopol was exchanged for Kars, which became an important geopolitical victory for Russia following the results of the Crimean campaign, which was not the most successful for it.
The famous Turkish writer and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, who has his own point of view on the history of Turkey, wrote about Kars in his novel “Snow”: “The Turks, who recaptured the city after forty-three years, changed this royal plan... and settled here, and the culture that the tsars brought to the city was also appropriated, since it was combined with the republican pathos of Europeanization, and five Russian streets were named after five generals famous in the history of Kars, since they did not know anyone greater than the military.”
Almost no information has been preserved about buildings built during the “Russian” period. There is a version that an architect from Holland was invited when planning and developing the city.
Many tourists claim that when they first arrived in the city of Kars in Turkey, they were amazed by the unusually wide streets for this country, the architecture of which remained from the Russian presence in this city. Kars has no access to the sea, and therefore tourists come here only to explore local attractions.
Today Kars in Turkey is a real open-air museum that preserves the features of Turkish and Armenian cultures. Unlike other regions of the country, the spirit of the past has been preserved here in its original form.
Location
Kars is a city located in eastern Turkey, 200 km from Erzurum, on the banks of the river of the same name and very close to the border with Armenia. It is the administrative center of the region of the same name, with a total area of 2347 sq. km. with a population of 80 thousand people.
From the history of the city
Kars appeared on this land in the 4th century, although written mentions of it date back to the 9th century. In 928-961, Kars was the capital of Armenia. In 1065 it became part of Byzantium, and a little later it was conquered by the Seljuks. For some time Kars was part of Georgia, but in the 16th century it passed to Turkey. During the years Kars was under siege for a long time. Russia managed to conquer it, but a year later, according to the Treaty of Adrianople, the city was returned to Turkey. And half a century later it became part of the Russian Empire until 1918. It was this year that it was returned to Turkey under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
During the Russian presence in the city, many buildings were built in the neoclassical style. The status of Kars in Turkey (we posted the photo in this article) was finally consolidated on May 30, 1953. The Soviet Union officially renounced any territorial claims against it.
Kars in
Since ancient times, Kars was considered a key point for the conquest of Asia Minor. Initially it was called Kars-kalak, which translates as “city of doors.” His fortress became an impregnable stronghold. It was surrounded by five rows of powerful walls and consisted of an external and internal fortress. During the construction of the citadel, food and ammunition warehouses and barracks were located inside the fortress walls, but there were no civilian facilities.
However, in the 17th century, many shops, 3 thousand houses and 47 mosques were built inside. Today, the tomb of Jelal Baba, who died after the Mongol invasion in the 12th century, barracks, one mosque and an ammunition depot are available for inspection on the territory of the Kars fortress in Turkey.
Surb Khach Church
Called the pearl of Armenian architecture, the temple was built during the peak of the Vaspurakan kingdom. The church was erected for King Gagik Artsruni. Inside it is decorated with frescoes, which are not typical for classical Armenian churches. The building has only two corner limits on the east side. In an Armenian church, as a rule, there are four chapels, which gives the cross-domed structure a rectangular shape.
Aparank Monastery
Aparank is the name by which the monastery in Kars (Turkey) is known today, derived from the Armenian word that means “palace”. The history of the monastery is unknown with certainty, but documentary evidence has been preserved that in the 19th century it was the episcopal center of the Terkan region. Most of the buildings of the complex that have survived to this day belong to this historical period.
The territory of the monastery is fenced with high walls. They were built not as defensive ones, but to give the complex integrity and completeness: there are no towers or high impregnable parapets on them. There is a gate in the northern wall - this is the entrance to the monastery. There was probably another one in the western wall, but it has not survived.
Church of St. Hovhannes
The temple is shaped like a cross with four columns supporting a dome with a low drum. This design was common in Armenian churches built in the mid-17th century and was due to the powerful influence of post-Byzantine churches.
The interior of the church is made of untreated stone covered with plaster. The floor was paved with well-crafted large stone slabs. There is a small extension on the south side of the church, which is part of the interior of the temple. It has no external entrance. The purpose of this building is unknown, but such extensions were quite often used in other Armenian churches of the 19th century.
Mush city
This settlement in the city of Kars in Turkey is located in the plain of the same name. Mush already existed during the time of the Hittites. Initially it was considered a fortress village, and in the 9th-10th centuries it was called a city. Mush was divided into Armenian and Turkish parts, and included twelve districts. The city had a market with numerous establishments, two hotels, 7 schools, 5 Armenian churches and a stone bathhouse.
This city became famous for the sad events that occurred during the Ottoman Empire. The nomadic Kurdish tribes that penetrated this territory began to show violence, as a result of which the bulk of the surviving Armenian population left the city.
Surb Karapet Cathedral
North of ancient Mush, on a hill rises the village of Chengeli, built on the ruins of a once holy place for Armenians - the Surb Karapet monastery. With the advent of Christianity, the pagan temple was destroyed, and instead Gregory the Illuminator built the Surb Karapet monastery. The powerful walls of this structure looked more like a fortress. In the Middle Ages, the monastery complex was not only the most revered among Armenians, but was also famous for its huge library and was a popular center of education.
Today, all that remains of this cathedral in the city of Kars in Turkey are ruins and a pile of carved stones, which local residents used to build houses.
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