Some thousand years ago, the old Armenian capital Ani rivaled the likes of Constantinople, Baghdad and Cairo in size and influence. Historically Ani has been an Armenian settlement from the times immemorial. It is first mentioned in the 5th century Armenian chronicles as a strong castle built on a hilltop. Ani was made capital of the Bagratuni Kingdom in 961 AD. and by the 11th Century had grown to over one-hundred-thousand people. Renowned for its splendor and magnificence, Ani was known as “the city of 40 gates” and “the city of 1001 churches.” It would later become the battleground for various contending Empires, leading to its destruction and abandonment. Today Ani largely remains a forgotten ancient Armenian ghost town in modern day Turkey. Travelers, writers, and other adventurers through ages have described Ani with high regard. I think there is no better way to describe Ani but through the words of the people who have visited the site. Therefore bellow a selection of these heartwarming accounts.
Konstantin Paustovski a Russian Soviet writer, a Nobel prize nominee described Ani in 1923 with the following quotes:
“What is Ani like? There are things beyond description, no matter how hard you try.”
“On the other bank we saw basilicas, tiled Armenian domes and a complete absence of human beings. It was the ruins of the ancient Armenian capital, Ani – one of the real wonders of the world.”
The British member of parliament and businessman H. F. B. Lynch in 1893 also describes the city of Ani in his book “Armenia, travels and studies.”:
“But a lesson of wider import, transcending the sphere of the history of architecture, may be derived from a visit to the capital of the Bagratid dynasty, and from the study of the living evidence of a vanished civilization which is lavished upon the traveller within her walls. Her monuments throw a strong light upon the character of the Armenian people, and they bring into pronouncement important features of Armenian history. They leave no doubt that this people may be included in the small number of races who have shown themselves susceptible of the highest culture.”
“The roofs as well as the walls are composed of stone, and, as usual in Armenian churches, no wood or metal has been used. Even at the present day the Armenian masons are possessed of exceptional skill; and their natural gifts have been here directed by the conceptions of genius.
The merits of the style are the diversity of its resources, the elegance of the ornament in low relief, the perfect execution of every part.”
“We admire these buildings in much the same state and condition as when they delighted the eyes of Armenian monarchs nine centuries ago. Such a site would in Western lands be at least occupied by a small town or village; the solitude of Ani is not shared by creations of a culture that has disappeared.”
Church of the Redeemer, in Ani
PeopleOfAr 