Arab Bastion

Arab Bastion, built by Sultan Abdülmecid of the Ottoman Empire, is the largest bastion of Kars. The word bastion derived from the Arabic word 'Ta'biye'; equipping, stacking, preparing and replacing them. In Kars, because of its geopolitical situation it is surrounded by many civilizations and tries to take a share of its trade, many bastions are built in order to protect the city. The bastions, which were started to built in the Middle Ages and aimed at protecting cities with large castles, are a common form of structure until the New Age. There are 46 different bastions only in Kars. The largest of these is the Arab Bastion. Built between 1848 and 1853 by Abdulmecid, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, The Arab Bastion spread over the hill of Karadağ to a very large area. The bastion, which is horse shoe shaped (bastion) when viewed from a bird's eye view, is surrounded by very deep defensive emplacement. In addition to the emplacement hidden by piling up soil, the buildings on the bastion are hidden by similar methods. Arab Bastion's emplacement entrance acts as a wall from the cut-off basalt stone. Those who enter through this wall are greeted by a military barracks with a rectangular plan. There are corridors made of vault belts that pass under this bastion, all made with a military genius. These corridors, which are used as ammunition, shelters and warehouses, It played a major role in winning the Victory of Kars in the Ottoman-Russian War in 1855. Arab Bastion, which preserves its grandeur with its almost symmetrical architecture and 100-year-old stance as if integrated with nature, is among the places frequented by guests coming to the city.