Kars

Kümbet Camii (mosque), formerly Church of the Apostles.

Kars (Armenian: Ղարս or Կարս, Azerbaijani: Qars) is a city in northeast Turkey and is the capital of the Kars Province, before at the head of a sanjak in the Turkish vilayet of Erzurum. Population: 8,672 (1878); 20,891 (1897); 54,000 (1970); 142,145 (1990); 130,361 (2000).

History

The early history of Kars is little known, beyond that it had its own dynasty of Armenian rulers and was the capital of a region known as Vanand. At some point in the 9th century (at least by 888) it became part of the territory of the Armenian Bagratids. From 928 to 961 Kars became the capital of their kingdom. It was during this period that the cathedral, later known as the Church of the Apostles, was built.

Kars Media

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  Enthronement scene of King Gagik-Abas, ruler of Kars, from the Gospel of King Gagik-Abas of Kars,*Jerusalem, St James 2556, ca. 1050-60.

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  The 10th-century Armenian Church of the Holy Apostles, as seen in a photo taken in the late 19th century.

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  Map of the Armenian Kingdom under the Reign of the Bagratid Dynasty, 10-11th centuries A.D.

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  The 1828 Russian siege of Kars (painter January Suchodolski).

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  The Armenian Cathedral of Kars, which was converted into a mosque in 1993.

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  Armenian civilians fleeing Kars after its capture by Kâzım Karabekir's forces.

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  Interior of the Kars cathedral.

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  Fethiye Mosque - the former Russian military cathedral built in tribute to Alexander Nevsky.

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  The Gazi Ahmet Paşa Konağı, a traditional house in Kars built during the period the city was part of the Russian Empire.

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  Old Governor's Mansion where the Treaty of Kars was signed.