Kars is the first major city at the entrance to Anatolia from the Caucasus and has been inhabited for thousands of years. The city's first museum was established in 1959 to protect cultural assets from the ancient city of Ani on the Silk Road and other archaeological settlements in the region. The 'Church of the Apostles', also known as the Kümbet Mosque, was converted into a museum from 1964 to 1978 to accommodate the increasing number of artefacts. In 1981, the İstasyon neighbourhood saw the opening of a modern museum building. Today, the Modern Kars Museum exhibits archaeological, ethnographic, and stone works, and is considered one of the most important museums. The museum's archaeological hall displays artefacts from various historical periods, including the Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Early Bronze and Iron ages, as well as the Urartu, Roman, Byzantine, Middle Age Principalities, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods. The museum exhibits a variety of artefacts, including metal and stone objects, coins, agricultural jars, and even dinosaur bones. The ethnography hall showcases artefacts that reflect the social, cultural, economic, and military lifestyles of the people who lived in and around Kars during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. These artefacts include woven carpets and rugs, silver belts, manuscripts, kitchen utensils, and ornaments. The museum garden showcases tombstones shaped like animals from the Akkoyunlu, Karakoyunlu, Armenian, and Georgian periods, along with different architectural elements.
KARS MUSEUM
