Ardahan

Ardahan

Ardahan Province is a province in the north-east of Turkey, at the very end of the country, where Turkey borders with Georgia. The provincial capital is the city of Ardahan. This is attractive open countryside which however spends many months of the year under snow.

At this altitude temperatures on average reach -20°C and can drop below freezing all year round, including summer months. The local economy depends on farming and raising livestock. Until 1993 Ardahan was a district of the province of Kars, becoming a province in its own right has meant more investment in infrastructure.

Places To Visit ;

Ardahan Castle was revealed by the prehistoric researches, that the first settlements to the Ardahan castle was dated to First Bronze Age (BC. 3500 – 2000). The castle built by the order of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman in the middle of 16th century (1544) at the Ottoman Period.

Posof Center Mosque can be mentioned as one of the most important mosques of city.

The Ardahan Forest for one is a huge forest area covering 2500 sq ft situated in the province of Ardahan Merkez. Situated at a height of 1930-2291m, the forest area is covered with flora, fauna and swamp.

The Cildir province would be your destination for it has two main lakes of Ardahan. The Aktas Lake is a protected area of around 2700 sq ft, located at a height of 1798m. It is a salt-water lake and an important breeding place for birds. Rare species like Ak Pelicans and Tepeli Pelicans are a common sight here and hence a bird watchers paradise.

Another lake in this province is the sweet water Cildir Lake covering a huge area of 14000 sq ft. It is a bird breeding ground too and especially of species like Angit and Van Lake Martisis.

In the province of Arpa lies another lake named The Kuyucuk Lake. It is a sweet water body situated at a height of 1627m and covering an area of 219 sq ft. This protected lake has rare species of birds like the Dikkuyrak.