| Kars Province Kars ili |
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|---|---|
| — Province of Turkey — | |
| Location of Kars Province in Turkey | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Region | Eastern Anatolia |
| Capital | Kars |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9,587 km2 (3,701.6 sq mi) |
| Population (2010-12-31)[1] | |
| • Total | 301,766 |
| • Density | 31.5/km2 (81.5/sq mi) |
| Area code(s) | 0474 |
| Vehicle registration | 36 |
| Website | kars.gov.tr |
Kars Province (Turkish: Kars ili ) is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its border with the Republic of Armenia.
The provinces of Ardahan and Iğdır were until the 1990s part of Kars Province.
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Kars was under the control of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. For a brief period, from 1878 until 1917, it was controlled by Russia. From 1918 to 1920 the province was under the administration of the Democratic Republic of Armenia as the Vanand province (with the city of Kars as its capital). Its territory was ceded to Turkey by the Soviet Union in the Treaty of Kars.
Kars province is divided into 8 districts (ilçe), each named after the administrative center of the district:
There are 383 villages in Kars.
Kars has a wealth of wildlife that is being documented by the Kars-Igdir Biodiversity Project run by the KuzeyDoga Society.[2] The project has recorded 321 of Turkey's 465 bird species in the region. At least 214 of these occur at Kuyucuk Lake,[3] that is the most important wetland in the province. Sarikamis Forests in the south harbor wolves, brown bear, lynx and other animals, and Aras (Araxes) River wetlands comprise a key stop-over site for many migrating birds. Aras River Bird Research and Education Center at Yukari Ciyrikli village has recorded 218 bird species at this single location alone.
Kars contains numerous monuments, the most notable being the ruined Armenian city of Ani and the 9th century Church of the Apostles.
Kars was also the setting for the popular novel Snow by Orhan Pamuk. The Siege of Kars, 1855 is a book published by The Stationery Office, 2000, and is an account of its defence and capitulation as reported by one General Williams, one of many British officers lent to the Turkish army to lead garrisons and train regiments in the war against Russia.
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