IMAGES / Empire that the world forgot
The ruling by a dizzying array of kings and empires over the centuries, the former regional power is already a terrific city and deserted ghost.
An abandoned ghost town
I ruled by a group tearing kings and empires over the centuries - from the Byzantines to the Ottomans - the city of Ani once housed thousands of people, becoming an important cultural center and a regional power, under the dynasty medieval Armenian Bagratid.
Today, it is a city eerie and deserted ghost that stands alone on a plateau in the highlands of the remote northeast of Turkey, 45 km away from the border town Turkish Kars. As you can walk among the ruins of numerous left to degrade for more than 90 years, the only voice screaming is the wind that passes through the valley, which marks the border between Turkey and Armenia.
A great many rulers
Visitors who pass through the city walls Ani, are greeted by a panoramic view of the ruins that lie in 3 centuries and 5 empire - including Bagratidët Armenians, Byzantines, Turks Seljuk, Georgians and ottomans. Anita plateau surrendered to Russia, as the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.
After the outbreak of World War I, the Ottomans fought to get back northeastern Anatolia, and although regained Anin and the surrounding area, the region was given to the newly established Republic of Armenia. Archaeological site changed hands for the last time, as the nascent Turkish republic took over the eastern offensive of 1920 in the Turkish War of Independence.
A lot of disputed territory
The ruins of an ancient bridge over the river Akhurian, which flows at the bottom of the valley to create a natural border, are emblematic given emergency situation Turkish-Armenian relations. Both countries are conflicted for a long time on the mass killings of Armenians committed in the framework of the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, and Turkey officially closed its border with Armenia in 1993, in response to a territorial conflict between Armenia and Turkey's ally, Azerbaijan.
A bid to save the ruins
Although the focus voltage Turkish-Armenian causes many discussions on Anin, there is an ongoing effort by archaeologists and activists to save the ruins, which were abandoned in countries favor more accessible and less historically contested by classical antiquity
Historians have long debated the importance of Anita as a connecting node medieval forgotten, and consequently he is currently in the preliminary list for recognition as a monument of World Heritage UNESCO. With a little luck and a careful restoration work, which started in 2011, they may be able to prevent further degradation of the time.
At its peak during the XI th century, the researchers estimate that the population of Anita amounted to more than 100,000 people. Artistic life, based on archaeological findings in this city, about a medieval active center filled with countless houses, craft workshops and impressive churches, scattered across the space of the city
During 1906-1918, the mosque served as a muzepër findings from excavations in the city of Ani by Russian archaeologist Nicholas Mar. Regardless of the origin of the building, four elegant windows of the mosque, display spectacular views of the river and the other side of the valley
The walls of the city once exceptional
Ani city walls can seem to collapse cooking, but when they were built in the tenth century, were an excellent defense. Bagratid family of kings built them in order to strengthen their new capital, and over the centuries, the walls protected the townspeople from different hosts fences.
source -bbctravel