Heavy Traffic - More Cars (Kars, Turkey)

• Wadirunner's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Kars

Trip Start Feb 27, 2007 Previous
Entry Trip End May 19, 2007 Next
Entry

  Kars, Turkey
Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Yo, as u can see Im still in Kars. In fact this is the 1st place that Ive stayed more than one night in - u could say Im a real wham bam thank u mam man!
This morning after bfast I walked down to the citadel checking out the Gazi (not Paul Gasgoine) Ahmet Mutar Paza HQ which is the best exponent of the traditional Kars house. Kars was occupied by the Ruskies for a long time so theres a certain Ruskie influence there. Then down to the citadel which is by the river.
By now Ive seen a fair few Turkish town citadels (Gaziantep, Van & Kars) and by and large I think Ive detected a common theme - overlooking the town from a height with imposing fortress walls and all involve a bloody steep climb up to them. Today was no exception. Kars didnt have quite the dramatic setting of Van with Lake Van lurking behind it but it does have expansive views of the city.
Then in the afternoon I went to Ani about 45km away. Apparently Ani once rıvalled Constantınople in terms of power in times of antiquity but what struck me was that line from Percy Byss Shellys poem, Ozymandias :

And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my works. Ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

There are loads of ruins of mainly churches and temples and of course the well preserved city walls - all spread about a fairly large area which I wandered round for about 3 hours but I couldnt help wonder did the ancient geezers who commissioned all these buildings have any idea that they would end up in ruins and serve as a tourist attraction as PBS so eloquently analyses above? Admittedly a few earthquakes and the odd Mongol invasion didnt help matters but still, nothing lasts, no matter how powerful or mighty u think u are. Im sure the Buddhists have something deep and meaningful to say about the transience & impermanence of all things but all I want to say is that they made for some nice photos and a good 3hr afternoon stroll ın glorious early spring weather.
Maybe future generations will be saying the same thing as they wander about the ruins of Temple Bar and wonder - why would they have a party in honour of a male deer??
Anyway I left Ani at about 445 and went back to Kars though I did stay in a different hotel.
Hotels here vary, the cheapest was 7.5YTL (about US$5) to 20YTL. And the cheapest was not the worst. Oh contraire. Id rate Hotel Saurahan (Dougabızayat) v. hıgh on the lıst and put the Mardin Hotel which was twice as much, much closer to the bottom.
Anyway tommorow I plan on driving to Yusufelli which if the weather holds good promises to be a real jaw dropper in terms of scenery and I might try and push onto the Black Sea Coast. Maybe stay in Rize. And from there its onto Trabazon and Sumela Monastery which is one of the highlights of my trip. Inshallah.
Cheers Wadirunner & TIPO.

Print this entry Share

Previous Entry Next Entry