AKYAKA AND AROUND

Tihnis Church
120 kilometers from Kars. Also called Sosgert Castle.

Arpacay Dam Lake
40 kilometers from Kars. A joint project by Turks and Russians and used for irrigation. There is no hydroelectric power station on the dam. it waters the Soregel Plain.

Dogu Kapi
This means eastern gate in English and it is 125 kilometers away from Kars. it is the border gate between Armenia and Turkey on the southeast of Akyaka. The railway and highway connections have been closed since 1993.

Akyaka Railway Station
100 kilometers from Kars. The Akyaka - Kars trains operate from there.

KAGIZMAN AND AROUND

Kagizman is worth seeing for its natural beauty as well as its historical importance. The Aras River Canyon on the north of the town is a feast for the eye. The altitude of the town is lower than the Kars average, which makes the area suitable for fruit and vegetable farming. Other main products are grape molasses and fruit paste.

Gecivan Castle
Gecivan Castle is 40 kilometers northwest of the town, in the foothills of the Ala Dag Mountain. it is the third village after Cilehane on the Cilehane road. it is also referred to as Kecivan, Gecivan, and Gecvan both by the local population and in some books. The settlement around the castle has been called Tunckaya Village since 1960. The castle was used by the Seljuks and also repaired many times by the Ottomans. Now it is basically in ruins.

Morpet Castle
This castle is on the old Kagizman road near the village of Kotek on rough and steep rocks. it is also known as Koroglu Castle.

Salt Caves
The caves are located around the Kagizman Bridge region past the junction for Kars and igdir on the Erzurum road.

Kesik Bridge
This is on the old Kagizman road, 75 kilometers from Kars.

Camuslu Rock Paintings
This interesting feature of the region can only be reached by a four-wheel-drive vehicle. The village of Camuslu is 50 kilometers from Kars and the rocks are at Yazilikaya, 5 kilometers higher up in the eastern slope of Ala Dag. it could also be reached on foot. On the flat surface of a basalt rock there are two panels decorated with various animal and human figures. The figures, which mostly consist of mountain goats, deer and donkeys, show that in the late Paleolithic period, the natural environment was suitable for hunting and gathering.

Kagizman Camuslu Rock Paintings. Photograph: Yildirim Ozturkkan

Kurbanaga Cave
This is a little beyond Camuslu. in this cave various wall paintings and goods were found to suggest that the inhabitants were hunters as in Yazilikaya. There are figures of hunting tools and pots dating back to the Bronze Age.

Cengilli Church
This church is 100 kilometers from Kars, of which about 70 kilometers is a tarmac road and the rest a mountain road. Ulker Lake is also about a kilometer from the village of Cengilli. The village is established on an old road from the middle ages. it is 75 kilometers southwest of Ani. The church with the same name as the village is also from the middle ages. On an inscription in the church, it states that the church belonged to a monastery and came under the rule of the Georgian patriarchate.

Calli Har Ruins and Rock Paintings
Following the Kagizman, Karabag and Calli routes, after 8 kilometers of driving, it requires five kilometers of climbing up the mountain.

Cukurayva (Prut Kaya Churches)
60 kilometers from Kars, and reached by following the Camuslu route.