Kars Honey Description and Distinguishing Features of the Product: Beekeeping in Kars has a long history dating back to ancient times and is among the region's primary sources of income. Kars Honey is renowned for its distinct plant flora, natural conditions, and climate. The aroma, subtle fragrance, and taste characteristics of "Kars Honey" are said to have earned it a place on the tables of the Ottoman palace and historical records indicate its sale beyond the province during the Ottoman period. Beekeeping in the Kars region was initially practiced in long baskets until the early 20th century when a transition to new hive types occurred, becoming widespread throughout Turkey after the use of new hives started in Kars during World War I. Kars, being a border province where bee movements can be more easily controlled than in other provinces, is considered an isolated region for beekeeping. Through the calculation of the potential of honey, pollen, and nectar from various plants reflecting the characteristics of the Kars region, it has been determined that many honey-producing plants in the region carry high amounts of honey, pollen, and nectar during seasons suitable for natural conditions. While some specific plants native to the region cannot be directly considered honey plants, it is understood that bees use them for various purposes, contributing to the uniqueness of beekeeping and production in the region. With 66% of the land within the borders of Kars used as meadows and pastures, and a significant portion of the suitable agricultural land used for cereal cultivation, Kars stands out as an important area for beekeeping with its clean geography, untouched nature, and lack of industrial or chemical contamination. Situated in the northeast of Turkey, Kars is surrounded by mountains with an average altitude of 2500 m, enclosed within a plateau area ranging from 1500-3000 m and mostly covered with volcanic materials. Therefore, Kars functions as a high-altitude plateau. Due to altitude, continentality, and other natural conditions, Kars experiences a harsh continental climate that can show significant changes over short distances. As a result of these features, it has been found that the region has approximately 1800 species of naturally growing (wild) flowering plants, with around 100 of them identified as endemic. Another important feature of the Kars Flora is that it is a region where Caucasian plants grow in Turkey. Some plants identified in the Kars Geography, named after the Caucasus, include Onosma caucasicum, Lonicera caucasica, Erigeron caucasicus, Astragalus caucasicus, Trifolium caucasicum, Orobanche caucasica, Ranunculus caucasicus, Alchemilla caucasica, Pedicularis caucasica, Iris caucasica, Allium albidum supsp caucasicum, Fritillaria caucasica, Muscari caucasica. Some plant species collected from Kars and its surroundings that have names derived from the province, districts, or mountains in the scientific world include Allium ezelghauricum, A. karsianum, Chaerophyllum karsianum, Festuca karsiana, Hieracium sarycamschene, Lathyrus karsianus, Nonea karsensis, Senecio integrifolius supsp. karsianus, Veronica allahuekberensis, Draba terekemensis. The flora of the province, its geography, topography, and climate are interconnected elements. Due to the long-lasting snow cover during winter (5-6 months), thousands of flowers in the plains, high plateaus, and mountains of Kars are protected under the snow. With predominantly Alpinesque herbaceous communities belonging to the Iran-Turan flora family and a small number of yellow pines adapted to the region's characteristics dominating forested areas, Kars Province provides a suitable environment for beekeeping and the production of bee products. Production Method: Kars Honey will comply with the Turkish Food Codex Honey Regulation. In the production of Kars Honey, no form of adulteration is allowed through the use of commercial sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose, etc.) or feeding with different regional honeys. There are no chemical or medicinal applications in the beehive during the honey production season. Attention is paid to avoiding chemical and medicinal applications during the honey production (nectar collection) period, and any traces of contaminants, pesticides, veterinary drug residues, and naphthalene resulting from practices in other periods will be below the values specified in the Turkish Food Codex Contaminants Regulation attachment. Bees are not moved outside the provincial borders during the honey production season, but migration within the province to areas with abundant nectar flow is possible.Harvest Time for Honey: Depending on the year and nectar flow, honey harvesting begins around July 20th and continues until mid-August, with honey being harvested once a year. Distribution of Beekeeping Areas: Beekeeping activities in Kars are conducted in the form of stationary beekeeping. Beekeepers typically start their activities in early April, taking their overwintered bees out of the hives and introducing them to nature, usually in April. Depending on the nectar yield and situation, beekeepers start changing the locations of their bees within the Kars region from mid-May onwards. This situation is mainly related to altitude. In places with an altitude of 1500 meters, when vegetation decreases, they move towards areas 3-4 km away from settlements, close to natural water sources, where nectar and pollen are abundant, reaching 2000 meters and higher. Beekeepers can stay in these areas after honey harvesting until early September, or they return to their stationary areas where they will overwinter their colonies. Beekeeping activities, not showing homogeneity due to different natural environmental factors in the province, are characterized by a nomadic nature influenced by the nature of bees. Beekeeping activities conducted entirely in rural areas due to the nature of bees begin in the eastern Akyaka, Arpaçay, and Digor regions and the southern Kağızman district, located in the lower altitude areas where the air warms up more quickly at the end of April. Later on, as the weather warms up and other conditions affect this negatively, activities move towards the higher elevations of these districts, or towards the west in Susuz, Merkez, Sarıkamış, Selim, and Digor districts, where the altitude is higher. In these areas, where climatic conditions begin to deteriorate in September, producers return with their bees to the initial starting points and enclosed shelters. The open part of beekeeping activities in the province is conducted a few kilometers away from villages and other rural settlements, generally in areas relatively rich with honey plants, climatically suitable, where water sources increase, and on valley floors and gently sloping slopes.