TRAIL OF THE NOVEL KAR

The 2006 Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk set his novel Kar (Snow) in Kars. The events of the book mostly take place along Faik Bey, Prof. Dr. Metin Sozen (Karadag), Halit Pasa and Sehit Hulusi Aytekin streets running east-to-west, and on the north-south axis, Ismail Aytemiz (Istasyon), Kazim Pasa, Ataturk (Istiklâli Milli) and Ordu Streets. Most of the workplaces, the theater and the television station mentioned in the novel are in this region.

Pamuk occasionally takes the reader outside this area, to Inonu Street, Baytarhane Lane, Digor Road, Millet Garden, Stone Bridge (Taskopu) and Dereici. The Education Institution and Veterinary Faculty buildings mentioned in the novel are now used as the Education Faculty of the Caucasus University and the Kars Vocational School. Orhan Pamuk stayed at the Karabag Hotel in Kars while writing his novel. He occasionally went to the tea house behind the butcher and the Birlik Club on Ataturk Street.

TRAIL OF THE NOVEL KAR (SNOW) 1. Tekel Directorate 2. Cumhuriyet Hotel 3. Halitpasa Office Blocks 4. Merkez Mosque (Old Orthodox Church) 5. Post Office 6. Community Center (Millet Theatre) 7. Kars Palas Hotel 8. Asya Hotel (Student Hostel) 9. Lale (Yeni Hayat) Patisserie 10. Dostlar Tea House 11. Governor’s Mansion 12. Ataturk Statue and Park 13. The Revenue Office Building 14. The House of Maruf Bey (The House of Yazici’s) 15. Education Institute (Political & Administrative Science Faculty) 16. Serhat TV (Ozel Idare Office Blocks) 17. Municipality 18. Demir (Iron) Bridge 19. Stone Bridge (Karahanoglu Bridge)

BIRD WATCHING TRAIL

Birds in and around Kars

The Kars-Igdir Natural Diversity Project, which was begun in 2003, has highlighted the birdwatching opportunities in Kars (www.karsdoga.com). Kars provides a very convenient stop between the Kackar Mountains and Lake Van for birds that are migrating over a long distance. So far, over 250 species of birds have been registered in the region (this number is 465 for the whole Turkey).

Kizil Caylak (Milvus Milvus/Red kites), which are very rarely seen in Turkey, can be found in Kars during the migration season. Within 30 minutes of Kars a wide variety of birds can be seen:
Dikkuyruk Ordegi (Oxyura Leucocephala/ White-headed or Stiff-tailed Duck) Puhu Baykusu (Bubo Bubo/Eagle Owl) Bozkir Kartali (Aquila Nipalensis/Steppe Eagle)
Bozkir Delicesi (Circus Macrourus/Pallid Harrier)
Kucuk Kerkenez (Faco naumanni/Lesser Kestrel)
Kinali Keklik (Alectoris Chukar/Red-legged Partridge)
Surmeli Kumkusu (Limicola Falcinellus/ Broad-billed Sandpiper)
Boyunceviren (Jynx Torquilla/Eurasian Wryneck)
Kizil Gerdanli Incirkusu (Anthus Cervinus /Red-throated Pipit)
Ak Sirtli Kuyrukkakan (Oenanthe Finschii/ Finsch’s Wheatear)
Alaca Kuyrukkakan (Oenanthe Pleschanka/ Pied Wheatear)
Ala Sigircik (Sturnus Roseus/Rosy Starling) (Caucasian)
Sari Gagali Ketenkusu (Carduelis Flavirostris/ Yellow-beaked Twite)

Besides these: Buyuk Dag Bulbulu (Prulella Collaris/Alpine Accentor), Bogmakli Ardic (Turdus Turquatus/Ring Ouzel), Sari Gagali Dag Kargasi (Pyrrhocorax Graculus/ Alpine Chough), Kizilca Kuyrukkakan (Oenanthe Xanthoprymna/ Rofous-tailedWheatear) and Alamecek (Rhodopechys /Crimson-winged Finch) can be seen in the more mountainous areas.

Caucasus University Campus: With its hillside location, it is one of the best places for bird watching. It is possible to see a new kind of bird almost every day. Spring, especially April and May, are the best times for bird-watching. 120 species of birds have been registered here so far. Among the most noteworthy there are: Buyuk Su Cullugu (Gallinago Media/Great Snipe) Biyikli Otlegen (Sylvia Cantillans/Subalpine Warbler) Kafkas Civgini (Phyllosopus Sindianus/ Mountain Chiffchaff) Deniz Dudukcunu (Phalaropus Lobatus/ Red-necked Phalarope) Kara Sumru (Chlidonias Niger/Black Tern) Kizil Boyunlu Batagan (Podiceps Grisegana/ Red-necked Grebe) Kucuk Orman Kartali (Aquila Pomarina/ Lesser Spotted Eagle) Kizil Akbaba (Gyps Fulvus/Griffon Vulture) Yaz Atmacasi (Accipiter Brevipes/ Levant Sparrowhawk) Ala Dogan (Falco Vespertinus/ Red-footed Falcon) Bataklik Dudukcunu (Tringa Stagnatilis/ Marsh Sandpiper) Kizil Kumkusu (Calidris Ferruginea/Curlew Sandpiper) Van Golu Martisi (Larus Armenicus/Armenian Gull) Benekli Yelve (Porzana Porzana/Spotted Crake) Ala Sigircik (Sturnus Roseus/Rosy Starling) Mavigerdan (Luscinia Svecica/Blue Throat) Saribasli Kuyruksallayan (MotacillaCitreola/ Citrine Wagtail)

Lakes: Kuyucuk Lake It is the best marshy area in the region. In 2004, 10-12 percent of the whole Angit (Tadorna Ferruginea/Rudy Shelduck) population in the world was counted here in a day. Besides this, marsh sandpiper, rose-colored starling, Flamingo, long-eared owl and short-eared owl, whiteheaded duck, spotted and little crakes, slender- billed gull, sanderling, bittern, pygmy cormorant, desert wheatear, purple gallinule and ferruginous duck are among the 111 kinds of birds in this region. For those who come from the north, the Ardahan Forest for the lesser spotted eagle, and Cildir Lake for the velvety scoter are worth a stop. Corncrakes and Caucasian black grouse breed in Posof but it is difficult to find both. At Aktas Lake near the Georgian border it is possible to see Dalmatian and white pelicans, which breed freely because of the difficulties of reaching the border spot; but for the same reasons, birdwatching requires a military permit. It is possible to descend 1000 meters between Sarikamis and Kagizman, through pine forests and alpine grasslands, fruit farms and groves on the banks of the Aras River.
Heading southeast from Igdir and Agri Mountain, you can make a stop at Cali Lake to see white headed duck, citrine wagtail, alpine chough and other interesting migratory birds. The white-throated robin and chukar have been spotted on the way down to Halikisla rocks, but it is difficult to get there because the rocks are close to the Armenian border.

Aras Bird Research and Education Center: Upper Ciyrikli Village on the Aras River is also definitely worth visiting. Fifty meters before crossing the bridge over the Aras River, turn right and follow that road till the end. At that spot there is the only bird watching and ringing station in the East Anatolia region: the Aras Bird Research and Education Center. 120 types of birds were identified here and ringed in one year, and about 200 were observed including the red kite, black stork, little crake and all the four vultures seen in Turkey (lammergeyer, black, griffon and Egyptian vultures). Other birds under observation here include the booted eagle, levant sparrowhawk, spotted crake, Syrian woodpecker, great snipe, citrine wagtail, Finsch’s wheatear, rosy starling, barred warbler, corncrake, grasshopper warbler, Savi’s warbler, mustached warbler, icterine warbler, greenish warbler, red-breasted and semi-colored fly catchers.

On the mountain behind the Aras, birds including the red-fronted serin, pied wheatear and rock thrush can be found. Between late May and late September, it is possible to see the blue-cheeked bee eaters in the foothills of Mount Agri in the villages of Bulakbasi and Aktas, while towards December the menetrie’s and desert warblers and the grey hypocolius can sometimes be found.

Routes:
Day 1: Kuyucuk Lake, Cali Lake, Caucasus University Campus
Day 2: Kars-Halikisla Road, Aras Bird Research and Education Center
Day 3: Sarikamis-Kagizman
Day 4: Igdir-Aralik Region
Day 5: Cildir Lake-Ardahan Forest
Day 6: Posof (by staying overnight)

For further information: www.kuzeydoga.org and www.kuyucuk.org

FLOWER TRAIL

In May, the Aras basin between Kagizman and Igdir is ideal for a walk among the flowers. The endemic Kagizman tulip can be seen in the plateaus of Kaziman. On the Kars-Kagizman road and in the nearby hills .and mountains there are endemic astragalus, orchids and sage.

In June spring arrives in the rest of Kars but not yet in the high plateaus and mountains. By the end of June, all flowers and plants are in blossom.

July is the best month for the Sarikamis and Allahuekber mountains and plateaus. The Endemic Lathyrus Karsianus can be seen in the Isnos meadow, and the delicate yellow-kilted crown imperial flower only grows in Sarikamis. Late July and early August is the season for the tall blue monkshood (Aconitum) in the Sarikamis forests.

The ruins of Ani, which can be visited throughout the year, are not as rich with flowers as one might expect. However Cildir Lake is one of the best areas for variety of flowers; here, and also in the Kisir Mountain, the best time to see them is June and July.

SARIKAMIS MARTYRS TRAIL

The graves of the Sarikamis martyrs start at the village of Bardiz (Gaziler), the first land that the Ottoman army regained from the Russians on 24 December 1914. There are two unprotected graves here; one contains 650 martyrs and the other 800. There are Ottoman military monuments at their heads. The two houses used as headquarters by Enver and Ihsan Pashas inside the village are protected.

tFurther along at Kaynak Plateau, there are two preserved martyrs’ cemeteries where 2,000 soldiers are buried. Following the route, you’ll approach the Divik (Yayikli) plateau where three martyrs’ cemeteries of the 90th regiment have been restored and only two kilometers away there is the Lone Pine cemetery (not to be confused with its namesake at Gallipoli).

From the village of Catak, continue to Sarikamis Station in Selim. Looking west from there, you’ll see the hills where the 17th division arrived over Bardiz to the station. If you walk for 600 meters from the station to old Sarikamis, you’ll come to the spot where the 29th division entered the area. The village house where 100 soldiers were killed on 29 December 1914, is also here, and has not yet been turned into a cemetery. Another 500 meters on from here there is the mausoleum created in 1957 for the bones of soldiers collected from the mountains..

From this point a car is required to go on to the Allahuekber Martyrs Mausoleum, which is near the Bayrak Tepe Skiing Center to the east of Sarikamis.

There are other martyrs cemeteries but they are not on this trail and some are not accessible. The cemeteries on the Vartanek- Beykoy line and Ersinek plateau on the Senkaya side of the Allahuekber Mountains cannot be visited because of the lack of roads, and in any case will probably soon be ruined by erosion. The Third Regiment’s cemetery at the top of the Allahuekber Mountains,93 some 3,150 meters above sea level, can only be visited during the traditional annual summer commemorations.

BASTIONS TRAIL

This tour requires comfortable clothes and shoes and a picnic lunch and is better done outside winter. Starting off from the Kars Fortress, the first stop is the Gemli Bastion which was used as a Russian prison in the past. Then move on to

The Karadag Bastion, which covers a large area with the additions made at the end of the 16th and 19th centuries. Bear in mind that this is also an ideal location for panoramic photographs of Kars. From there, head to the Baruthane (gunpowder factory), which was used as a prison during Ottoman times. The most important leg of this trail is the Arab Bastion.

The magnificent view of the land carved out by the Kars stream for centuries by itself makes this trip worthwhile. The trail ends back at the Kars Fortress.

Gemli Bastion. Photograph: Vedat Akcayoz