SEEING KARS BEFORE THE SUMMER ENDS
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Aug 17 2013
Tuba K̦seoglu OkcuKARS РHurriyet Daily News
Inhabitants of Kars are extremely hospitable and smiling. Life in
the streets is unexpectedly lively, even late at night. Women, unlike
many other Anatolian cities, take an active part in urban life
An old saying goes like this: “You won’t see Kars unless you hit the
road to visit Kars.” This once-upon-a-time busy crossroad city on
the Silk Road is today a very lonely place famous for its cold winter.
Yet, it turns into a haven in summer time with its breeze and wide
green prairies where herds of geese and cows graze.
Kars’ historic heritage is breathtaking, but there are few tourists
around: Militant activity by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) in the 1990s hampered all tourism. Recovery to the pre-1985 era
when the city hosted two to three groups of tourists per week seems
to still be away despite nice hotels.
The traces of 40 years of Russian occupation starting in the 1890s is
still visible and means the city’s landscape is different from that of
other Anatolian cities: one- or two-story buildings (built so as to
enable the sun’s rays to defrost ice on the streets) still dominate
urban Kars and they are either used today as government offices or
are ruins desperately waiting for restoration.
The inhabitants of Kars are extremely hospitable and smiling and are
willing to help, guide and support visitors. Life in the streets is
unexpectedly lively, even late at night. Women, unlike many other
Anatolian cities, take an active part in urban life.
The Ani Ruins
The main destination for tourists is, of course, the Ani Ruins. Until
20 years ago, visits to this site were subject to special permission
from the city’s police department as it’s just on the border to
Armenia; fortunately, such bureaucracy is not in place anymore. Though
only 15 percent of the site is excavated, the Ani Ruins are still
spectacular: layers of civilizations lie in front and below you. This
spot is literally “the cradle” of civilizations: on one side you
have the Manucehr Mosque, one of the first mosques built on Anatolian
soilÄ° on the other you have the Fire Temple of Zarathustra; on the
right you have Tigran Honents Church, the only church in the world with
original drawings about the history of Armenians and on the left, you
have the hamams dating back from Seljuk Empire… A few steps behind
you have the remnants of a Georgian church, built in a Gothic style –
200 years before the Gothic style was even used…. And on the other
side of the river, you have Armenia in its entire splendor. The more
you walk around this vast side, the more you realize how silly the
limitations, prejudices and categorizations we humans have created are.
A small museum in downtown Kars (called the Kars Museum) is a
great location to trace all the civilizations that settled in the
area. Both archaeological and ethnographic footprints starting from
the paleolithic era to the Urartus, Sasanians, Mongolians and Romans of
the area can be found in this small gem. Entrance is free and there is
a lovely corner inside for kids. The serene garden is decorated with
statues and tombstones bearing the symbols of shamanism yet created
by the first Muslims of the region who obviously still carried their
shamanistic habits in the early years of their new religion. In the
backyard, an important witness of the first days of young the Turkish
Republic is exhibited: a railway car bearing Russian and Ottoman
scripts. This is in fact the very railway car itself in which the
newly founded USSR sent and handed over in Kars 500,000 pieces of
gold to support Mustafa Kemal and his friends in their fight for
independence in the early 1920s.
Before that solidarity, a series of wars were fought between
Russians and Turks for years, the deadliest being in December 1914 at
SarıkamıÅ~_, a district in Kars. On the steep hills of the Allahu
Ekber Mountains 60,000 Ottoman soldiers, ill-prepared for the December
cold and snow, froze to death. The graveyards dedicated to the memory
of these anonymous unfortunate young men salute you all the way to
downtown SarıkamıÅ~_.
SarıkamıÅ~_, a lively ski center in winter, is another town where
Russian architecture remaining from the occupation years is very
dominant. A hunting lodge attributed to Catherine the Great commands
the whole town. The building is almost demolished today, but has not
fully lost its splendor. Unlike Kars’ downtown, you can barely see
women in the streets and the men around don’t seem to like visitors;
smiling faces are hard to spot.
Cıldır Lake, around two hours by car, is a magnet for trekking fans.
The very few shabby fish restaurants on the shore are full of locals
and few tourists. At 2,200 meters above sea level, this place is very
cold even on the hottest day of summer. In winter, sledge tours with
horses are organized on the frozen lake.
Culinary
Culinary pleasures deserve special attention in Kars: cheese, honey
and butter are sine qua non purchases to be made once you are in
this city. All organic, very reasonably priced and delicious, these
items can also be sent directly to your address both in Turkey and
outside Turkey.
The most famous restaurant of the city is Kars Kazevi. This humble
place with a very ordinary decoration amazes you not only with its
impeccable menu but also with its owner “Nuran Teyze,” as locals call
her. Nuran Teyze is a living example of strong Anatolian women we read
about in epic poems. She had a limited education, got married, had
children, raised them but did not settle for that: She dedicated her
life to making Kars goose known all around the world. She established
a foundation, made speeches on the topic at universities and even at
the United Nations.
What should one taste there? Well, first “kete” a substitute for bread;
“ayran aÅ~_ı” a special soup prepared with local vegetables, “hangel”
a pastry prepared with yogurt, onion and butter and as main course,
of course goose meat and bulghur. Don’t expect any foie gras in Kars:
their liver is too small to prepare pate de foie gras.
Renovated Russian house
“The” place to find entertainment in Kars is KARStore, located in
a renovated Russian house. The place also serves dinner (they have
a special local dish, resembling goulash but served in mugs!!) but
it’s preferred rather for after-dinner drinks. The main entertainment
is the performance of troubadours, an ancient and almost dying art
in Anatolia.
Of course, the essence of troubadours is in the language and thus,
without translation, the satire-based crosstalk between troubadours
do not really make sense but still, it’s not to be missed as the
next time you come, you might find no troubadours left, as young
generations are not keen on to pass on this traditional art.
These experiences are just a flight away: there is a direct flight
from Istanbul to Kars and from Kars to Istanbul every day. Before
the cold takes hold of the region, go and discover this remote yet
exciting city… Don’t forget the old saying: you won’t see Kars
unless you hit the road to visit Kars…
August/17/2013
From: Baghdasarian