Old Armenian stronghold Population: 400
Old names: Artogerassa (Latin), Artagers (Armenian), Keçror, Geçivan
The ostensible reason to set off on this excursion from Kağızman is to explore the ruins of Kecivan (Gecvan) Castle at Tunçkaya (Bronze Rock) although it may well be that the astonishingly lush green scenery along the road is what lingers most in your memory.
Backstory
For somewhere that is so forgotten today Kecivan was once surprisingly important as part of the kingdom of Armenia.
Perhaps the most significant events to have happened here took place in the 360s when the royal treasury was brought here to be hidden from Persian invaders. A queen called Parantsem led her men in resisting the Persians for a year. When the castle eventually fell in 368 its occupants were put to the sword.
The town revived in importance during the period when the Bagratids held sway in nearby Kars. It was still occupied by the Armenians in the 15th century when the Ottomans swept to power.
The site
To get to the castle you need to take the minor road from Kağızman to Kars that bypasses Kötek, then look for a turning on the left for the villages of Ortaköy and Tunçkaya; the castle itself is not signed. The road is rough and unasphalted but passable in a normal car except in the depths of winter.
At the very end of the road you will see the ruins of Kecivan Kalesi, a castle dating back to the ninth century, on a plug of rock with valleys on both sides. Several stretches of the outer wall and towers survive although with every year more of the stones vanish.
High up on the plateau beyond the actual village you’ll also see the extremely battered remnants of the Armenian Cengim Church, its dome long gone but the stonework round the windows still recognisable.
When I visited in 2011 people were still living inside the walls of the castle although if experience elsewhere is anything to go by their days there are probably numbered.
Just past Kötek on the right-hand side of the road look out for the lofty ruins of another castle associated with the Turkish hero, Köroğlu.
Transport info
Without your own car you will need to hire a taxi in Kağızman to visit Kecivan. You can combine the visit with one to the Georgian church at Çengilli.
