Daily life
Kars sits on a high plateau in northeastern Turkey, 1,768 metres above sea level, with a population of roughly 91,450 as of the 2022 census. Two layers define the townscape: the medieval walls of Kars Castle, and the grid-planned streets of basalt-stone buildings built in a Baltic-influenced style during the Russian administration of 1878-1918. Orhan Pamuk's 2002 novel "Snow" (Kar in Turkish) is set here, and its portrait of a remote, snowbound border city has shaped how many readers picture Kars before they ever arrive. The city's main day trip is to Ani, the ruined city roughly 45 kilometres to the east, close to the Armenian border. Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016, Ani was the capital of the medieval Armenian Bagratid kingdom in the 11th century, when it held an estimated population of around 100,000; today its churches and fortification walls stand largely alone on an open plateau. Kars also has a distinct food identity: Kars kaşarı, a cheese first produced in Kümbetli village in 1926, received protected geographical-indication status in 2015, and the region's honey and goose meat carry similar protected status. With snow cover for about four months of the year on average, daily life here runs on a slower, cold-weather rhythm.
Transport
The quickest way to Kars is by air: Kars Harakani Airport has daily flights from Istanbul (both airports) and Ankara, plus flights from Izmir on some days of the week, and sits about 6 kilometres south of the city centre. Rail travellers can take the Doğu Ekspresi (Eastern Express), which leaves Ankara daily at 18:00 and reaches Kars roughly 26 hours later via Kayseri, Sivas, Erzincan and Erzurum — a route chosen for scenery rather than speed. By road, Ankara to Kars is about 1,100 kilometres via the E80, roughly 13 hours by car or bus; two daily buses run from Istanbul. The city centre itself is walkable, and tourist buses to Ani leave mornings from Faik Bey Caddesi — it's worth confirming exact times and fares locally.
Safety notes
For Kars, current safety advisories, opening hours, prices and booking details are not verified in this pilot pack; the correct answer is.
FAQ
How do you get from Kars to the ruins of Ani, and how long does it take?
Ani lies roughly 45 kilometres east of Kars, close to the border with Armenia, and can be reached by daily tourist bus or private car in about 45 minutes to an hour. Most visitors set aside around two hours to walk the church and palace ruins inside the old city walls; overnight stays aren't permitted because of the site's proximity to the border, so the trip needs to be completed within a single day.
Why is the Russian-era architecture in Kars so distinctive?
Kars was under Russian imperial administration from 1878 to 1918, and during that period the city gained a grid-pattern street layout and basalt-stone buildings reminiscent of Baltic towns; the building known today as the Fethiye Mosque dates from this period too, built by the Russians in the 1880s as the Alexander Nevsky Church and converted into a mosque in 1984. These buildings, described in Orhan Pamuk's novel "Snow," still define the city centre today and show how Ottoman, Armenian and Russian influences sit side by side.
What local foods are worth trying in Kars?
The best-known product is Kars kaşarı, a cheese first made in Kümbetli village in 1926 that earned protected geographical-indication status in 2015; it's traditionally produced from the milk of free-grazing animals and is a fixture of the regional breakfast table. Alongside it, Kars's protected-status honey and goose meat are also considered culinary signatures, with goose dishes and kavurma especially common in winter.