In the steppe at the edge of a gorge, which today forms the border between Turkey and Armenia, lie the ruins of Ani, the legendary capital of Armenia in the 10th century and praised as the city of 1001 churches. In the middle of the 11th century, the Seljuks stormed the Anatolian plateau, and Ani was naturally the first place they passed. Later, the Mongols and an earthquake destroyed the city. Today, the ruins of a few churches and the mighty city walls stand lonely on the dry, wide plain. A light wind sways the grass. Below, beneath the black basalt rocks, a narrow strip of green and the river. Wonderful.
Ani is also a good example of how ignorant Turkey is about the Armenian Genocide. Both on the information board at the entrance and in the tour brochures they even manage not to mention the word “Armenia“!
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Backpacking trip Middle East and Caucasus 2008
Lake Van
Trekking Mount Kaçkar
Turkish Black Sea Coast
Borjomi and Vardzia