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Crumbling glory

With wildflowers blooming recklessly across green fields, birds wheeling against a cloudless sky, and butterflies flitting across your path, Ani could be called idyllic. But the grand, crumbling ruins that dot the horizon are testament to a chaotic past.

With wildflowers blooming recklessly across green fields, birds wheeling against a cloudless sky, and butterflies flitting across your path, Ani could be called idyllic. But the grand, crumbling ruins that dot the horizon are testament to a chaotic past.

Sitting on the Silk Road between modern-day Turkey and Armenia, Ani, the one-time capital of the medieval Armenian empire and former rival to the might of Constantinople, is a place where civilisations clashed. It is where sackings by a succession of conquerors, earthquakes and neglect have reduced it to an odd collection of mosques, churches and Zoroastrian temples.

For a mere 5 lira (S$3) plus the 100 to 120 lira or so it costs to hire a taxi to get there from Kars — the city immortalised in Orhan Pamuk’s Snow, where I based myself — you get virtually all of Ani to yourself, a welcome relief from the crowds that pack Turkey’s more well-known sights.

Perched in the northeast corner of Turkey, Ani overlooks the Akhurian River, which cuts a gorge forming a natural border dividing Armenia and Turkey. It is watched over by unfriendly steel fences and watchtowers that remind you of the tension between the two nations.

a TROUBLED PAST

Conflicts between Armenians and the Ottoman Turks date back to the late 19th century. But more recently and more brutally etched into the consciousness of both nations are the deaths during World War I.

The Turkish government at the time, acting against the Armenians helping the Russian army fight the Turks, ordered the deportation of its Armenian population to Syria and Palestine. An estimated one million died from starvation or were killed by Arab or Kurdish tribes in the process. The Armenians labeled it as genocide. This figure is disputed by Turkey, which has acknowledged the atrocities, but claimed there was no planned attempt to destroy the Armenians, and has placed the death toll at around 300,000.

Since Ani was ceded to Turkey in 1921, Armenia has accused Turkey of letting it go to ruin. While a visitor would see signs of restoration, the Church of the Redeemer, for instance — one of Ani’s most famed sights — is somewhat less dramatic to behold as a result. Only half of the circular, domed church remains, creating the appearance of a building neatly sliced into two. Restoration works see a steel skeleton spring up from beneath the remaining half, creating a temporary eyesore.

BUILDINGS OF GAUNT MAJESTY

Much of Ani appears to be crumbling gently, propped up by the occasional steel strut. At first sight, the ruins appear as small as dollhouses, dwarfed by the rolling hills and vast sky. But they surprise with a gaunt majesty as one draws nearer.

The Cathedral of Ani, finished between 1001 and 1010, is a soaring example of medieval Armenian architecture, its collapsed dome diminishes none of its grandeur. The Church of Saint Gregory of Tigran Honents, built in 1215 by a wealthy merchant, has a gorgeously frescoed interior that depicts the life of Christ and the life of Saint George the Illuminator, among others.

The Mosque of Manuchihr, perched on the edge of the Akhurian River Gorge, has ornate stone inlays on its red-and-black stone interior. Its tall, elegant arched windows offer a stunning vista of the valley and the river rushing by below, as well as the distant ruins on the Armenian side that are off-limits. The stone walls of each structure appear bare from a distance but up close, they bore elegant inscriptions, finely carved window arches and doorways, and ornate carvings of plants and animals.

SENSE OF DISCOVERY

Tripping through the grounds of Ani, which are dotted with scores of small excavated tombs, homes, and even a bathhouse or two, there is still a sense of discovering a hidden gem, a sensation heightened by the silence that pervades the area and the absence of crowds.

Most of the grounds can easily be covered in about three to four hours at no rush. Pack a meal or some snacks, and plenty of water — there are more than enough sheltered spots for a pleasant picnic during the warmer months. At the height of summer — July to August — the sun is unrelenting but the air remains pleasantly cool and dry in the low-to-mid 20s. Ani, as does the rest of the region, endures long, bitter winters, shrouding the ruins in snow.

What makes Turkey such a fascinating place to visit is the confluence of cultures that fought bloody conflicts but also influenced each indelibly, creating, in modern parlance, the melting pot we see today. Ani is one of those places in Turkey where this clash is evident, its ruins standing as living echoes of a long and dramatic history.

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