Kars: Turkey

Kars: Turkey
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of the Kars Province, formerly at the head of a sanjak in the Turkish vilayet of Erzurum. It is situated in 40°37′ N 43°6′ E. Population: 8,672 (1878); 20,891 (1897), 54,000 (1970).
As a city at the juncture of Caucasian, Russian, and Turkish cultures, the buildings of Kars come in a variety of architectures. Kars Kalesi, the citadel atop a plateau overlooking Kars, appears to have been built by Ottoman Sultan Murad III during the war with Persia, at the close of the 16th century. At the foot of the plateau is St. Arak’elos Cathedral, or the Church of the Apostles, now a museum. Built in the 10th century, it constitutes of a domed tetraconch atop a square base with four apses. The drum of the dome features bas relief depictions of The Twelve Apostles and the dome itself is covered by a conical roof.