Dosseman · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & license
Citadel of Kars
Indoor access needs confirmation
The inner citadel on the rock above the Kars River, whose basalt curtains and courtyard form the highest lookout in town.
The provincial directorate traces the inner citadel to the 10th century, while some accounts emphasize a 12th-century Saltukid repair. A marble inscription later set on the outer gate names the year 1152, the vizier Firuz Akay, and an order of Sultan Melik İzzettin. Timur destroyed the castle in 1386; Lala Mustafa Pasha rebuilt it in 1579 for Murat III, with further repairs in 1616 and 1636. Three gates are remembered: Su Kapısı, also called Çeribaşı, on the west, then the Kağızman or Middle Gate, and the Behram or Bayrampaşa Gate. The very long outer circuit described in provincial notes should be read as a vanished enclosure, separate from the inner castle that still stands.
Why visit
To see how the basalt curtains step up the rocky ridge and look down over the roofs of Kaleiçi.
The first morning light hits the east face of the rock, while the inner courtyard under the flagpole falls into shade after midday.
