The historical Beylerbeyi Palace, located on the outskirts of the Kars Castle, situated in the center of northeastern Turkey's Kars province, is ready to regain its former glory as a result of three years of restoration work.
The historical palace was built by Ottoman Grand Vizier Lala Mustafa Pasha in 1579 and is one of the most visited places in the city with its deep-rooted history of approximately 4.5 centuries. With 70% of the restoration work completed, the historical palace has already come under the spotlight.
The two-story palace, built using smooth cut basalt stone, has a unique architectural beauty with its arched entrance door and windows adorning the building's facade. The palace was damaged in 1828 during the Ottoman-Russian war in the region.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Kars Governor Türker Öksüz said teams are working at a fast pace to complete the restoration of the palace. It will open to visitors by the end of the year.
“When we complete the restoration, we will have unearthed all our historical buildings in this area," the governor said. "Kars is truly an open-air museum, and there is history everywhere and cultural richness all around. Therefore, these projects are carried out in an integrated way, and Beylerbeyi Palace is one of them. We have a cultural background that goes back a long time. Kars is a city with a history of 7,000 years and it has a historical richness to this extent.”
The governor said the goal of the project is to transfer historical artifacts to future generations. “We have about 750 registered cultural immovable assets," he said. "We want to bring all of these into Kars' culture and tourism life, to benefit from these places and to offer them to the service of all our citizens."
Underlining that the palace adds distinct richness to the city, Öksüz said: "Through the restoration, we will save the palace from decay and destruction.”
