The Ruined Churches of Ani

May 20, 2016 1 comments

Up on a plateau in the remote highlands of northeast Turkey, 45 km away from the Turkish border city of Kars, lies the crumbling ruins of some forty-odd churches, chapels and mausoleums. This area was once a glorious walled city called Ani belonging to the Armenian Kamsarakan Dynasty, who established base here in the 5th century. As the city grew in size, power and wealth, it became an important trading hub, and by the 11th century, the city boasted more than 100,000 citizens. During its heydays, it was known as “the City of Forty Gates” and sometimes “the City of a Thousand And One Churches.”

Ani’s golden age of wealth, peace and prosperity came to an end with the death of the Armenia ruler King Gagik I, after which the city gave way to a string of invaders starting with the Byzantines, followed by a ruthless massacre by the Turks, the Kurds, the Georgians, and then the Mongols who left the city devastated in 1236. Although Ani continued to exist for another six centuries it was little more than a small town. By the time the Europeans discovered Ani, it lay abandoned for nearly a century with great heaps of stones for former buildings. Ani’s most visible monuments today are the dozens of half standing churches.

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The Church of the Redeemer, completed shortly after the year 1035. It had a unique design: 19-sided externally, 8-apsed internally, with a huge central dome set upon a tall drum. The church was largely intact until 1955, when the entire eastern half collapsed during a storm. Photo credit: Romel Jacinto/Flickr

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Photo credit: Ggia/Wikimedia

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The church of St Gregory of Tigran Honents. Photo credit: Sara Yeomans/Flickr

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The Cathedral of Ani, built in 989. Photo credit: Sara Yeomans/Flickr

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Photo credit: Peter Liu/Flickr

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The Church of the Redeemer. Photo credit: Peter Liu/Flickr

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The walls of Ani. Photo credit: Peter Liu/Flickr

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Photo credit: Martin Lopatka/Flickr

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Photo credit: Sarah Murray/Flickr

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Photo credit: haigoes/Panoramio

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Photo credit: Sarah Murray/Flickr

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Photo credit: orientalizing/Flickr

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The walls of Ani. Photo credit: Mr Hicks46/Flickr

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The Cathedral of Ani. Photo credit: Mr Hicks46/Flickr

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The ceiling of a church. Photo credit: Mr Hicks46/Flickr

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The Monastery of the Hripsimian Virgins, by the Akhurian River. Photo credit: eggs-in-art-en.blogspot.com/The Atlantic

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The walls of Ani. Photo credit: Dusty Kurtz/Flickr

Sources: Wikipedia / WikiTravel / BBC

Comments

  1. Church buildings are a symbol of art and perfect architecture. To do it in the best way, borrowing money from the reliable lending company is necessary. Cause in this modern situation, bearing the construction expenses is not possible for oneself. So church financing is become popular.

    ReplyDelete

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