Translation from the Turkish Wikipedia on the city of Kars

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Next I'll be translating content from the Turkish Wikipedia on the city of Kars. What's Kars? Well, it's a city located on the far east of the country, close to the border with Georgia. It's been in the news a bit recently because it's one of the cities in the Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway which, like the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, is another way in which these countries are cooperating and reducing the monopoly Russia has had so far, first in pipeline exports, and now in transportation. I've never been there of course but apparently Georgia has been quite isolated since 2006 when Russia closed down the rail to Georgia and this new railway that should be completed in 2010 will give Georgia direct access to Europe once again.

(I'm not an expert on the area so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong anywhere)

So let's get to the article so we can learn a bit about Kars. As always, the translation comes with a 0% guarantee of accuracy.

(Edit: one day later after looking at the rest of the article I've changed my mind. It's not as interesting as I had hoped from a geopolitical perspective. The article in Turkish is mostly about agriculture, the city's livelihood, cultural festivals and whatnot. However, if you find an article on the city that you'd like me to translate that _is_ geopolitically interesting, I'd be happy to do it.)

Rakımı bakımından Türkiye'nin en yüksek il merkezlerinden biri olan Kars, köyleri ile birlikte nüfusu yüz bini aşan şehirlerden birisidir. Çeşitli etnisitelerin birlikte yaşadığı il merkezinde kültürel farklılıklardan ve zenginliklerden bahsetmek mümkün olup kozmopolit bir yapı sözkonusudur. Kars, Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı'nın 2023 yılı için Türkiye Turizm Stratejisi 2023 ve Turizm Stratejisi Eylem Planı kapsamına alınan 15 il merkezinden birisidir.


One of the highest provincial centres in Turkey in terms of elevation, it is with its villages a city with a population of over 100,000. In its provincial centre where various ethnicities live it can be said to have a cosmopolitan structure with cultural differences and richness. Kars is one of the 15 provincial centres contained within the Culture and Tourism Ministry's Turkey Tourism Strategy 2023 and the Tourism Strategy Action Plan.

Türkiye'nin Orta Asya'ya açılan kapısı konumundaki bu şehir, Kafkas Üniversitesi'nin açılmasıyla hızla gelişmeye başlamış ve zaman içinde bir öğrenci kenti durumuna gelmiştir. Ayrıca şehir merkezine altı kilometre uzaklıktaki havalimanı sayesinde de bölgesinde ulaşım ağının kesiştiği bir noktada yer alır. Bunun dışında kara ve demiryolu ağlarıyla ülkenin diğer yerleşim birimlerine ulaşımda da bir sorun yoktur. Kent Doğu Anadolu'da yabancı bir ülkenin (Azerbaycan) başkonsolosluğuna sahip tek şehirdir.


This city located in Turkey's 'open door' to the Middle East has begun rapidly developing with the opening of of Kafkas University, and in time has become a student's city. Also, thanks to the airport being located six kilometres from the city centre, it has become an intersecting point of the transportation network. Besides this there is also hassle-free transportation through the land and rail network to other settlement areas in the country. The city is the only city in East Anatolia with a foreign national (Azerbaijani) consulate general.

Kars Kalesi'nden şehrin genel görünümü. Solda Kümbet Camii, sağda Kars Çayı
Kars Kalesi'nden şehrin genel görünümü. Solda Kümbet Camii, sağda Kars Çayı
General view from Kars Castle. To the left is Kümbet Mosque, to the right is Kars Çayı


Country Location
Basic data
Region: East Anatolia
Division: Erzurum - Kars
Province: Kars
Area: 2347 km²[1]
Elevation: 1768 metre
Coordinates: 40°36K 43°5D
Population: 76,992 city
110,443 general area

[2](2007)

Population density: 47.05 / km²
Postal code: 36100
Telephone code: 0474
License plate code: 36
Yerel Yönetim
Governor: Mehmet Ufuk Erden
Web site: www.kars.gov.tr
Mayor: Naif Alibeyoğlu
Web site: www.kars.bel.tr

0 comments:

  © Blogger templates Newspaper by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP