Kars (Armenian: Կարս Kars, Azerbaijani: Qars, Kurdish: Qers) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.

As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography (Strabo) as part of ancient Armenia. For the etymological origin of the name "Kars", some sources claim it is derived from the Georgian word ყარსი ("kari"), meaning "the gate" while other sources claim it is from the Armenian word "հարս" ("hars") which means bride,popular etimology; and more correct "կառուց բերդ"("karouts berd," upbuild fortress). In recent years, the Georgian etymology, along with the Turkish one offered by M. Fahrettin Kırzıoğlu, has been dismissed as unsustainable by scholars.

Little is known of the early history of Kars beyond the fact that it had its own dynasty of Armenian rulers and was the capital of a region known as Vanand. Medieval Armenian historians referred to the city by a variety of names, including "Karuts' K'aghak'" (Kars city), "Karuts' Berd", "Amrots'n Karuts'" (both meaning Kars Fortress) and "Amurn Karuts'" (Impenetrable Kars). At some point in the ninth century (at least by 888) it became part of the territory of the Armenian Bagratunis. For a short time (from 928 to 961) Kars became the capital of their kingdom. During this period the town's cathedral, later known as the Church of the Holy Apostles, was built.

Mehmet Barış Manço (also spelled Boris Mancho in some European album releases), born Tosun Yusuf Mehmet Barış Manço, (January 2, 1943 - February 1, 1999) was a Turkish rock singer, composer, and television producer. The names Tosun and Yusuf were legally removed during his primary school years. He composed about 200 songs, some of which were translated into a variety of languages including English, Japanese, Greek, Italian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Persian, Urdu and Arabic. He remains one of the most popular public figures of Turkey.

Manço was born in Üsküdar, Istanbul, Turkey on January 2, 1943. His mother, Rikkat Uyanık, was a famous singer in early 1940s.^{[citation needed]} His older brother, who was born during World War II, was named Savaş^{[citation needed]} ("war" in Turkish) while he was named Barış ("peace" in Turkish) by his parents to celebrate the end of the war.^{[citation needed]} His fame greatly popularized the use of the name Barış in Turkey.^{[citation needed]} At birth, he was additionally named Tosun Yusuf after his deceased uncle Yusuf called Tosun (literally: Yusuf The Sturdy). However, this name was erased just before he attended the primary school.