Construction of the city made use of the beautifully coloured local volcanic basalt. Picture: Nate Robert.

Sitting deep in eastern Turkey, thousands of kilometres from bustling Istanbul, Ani lay on several trade routes and grew to become a walled city of more than 100,000 residents by the 11th century.

The ruins sit dramatically against the plateaus of inland Turkey. Picture: MrHicks46

Explore the incredible ruins of one of the world’s greatest cities. Picture: MrHicks46


At its peak, Ani was a city of opulence, magnificence and architectural wonder. It was the citadel, former capital and heart of the great Armenian empire.

Known as the city of 1000 churches, its religious buildings, palaces and fortifications were among the most technically and artistically advanced structures in the world.

All of its buildings were constructed using local volcanic basalt that was easily carved and came in a variety of vibrant colours from creamy yellow, to rose-red to jet black.

The Cathedral of Ani. Picture: MrHicks46

In the centuries that followed its peak, Ani and its surrounding region were conquered hundreds of times by Byzantine emperors, Ottoman Turks, Armenians, nomadic Kurds, Georgians, and Russians.

By the 1300s the city was in steep decline and completely abandoned by the 1700s.

Largely forgotten for over 700 years, its crumbling ruins were the victim of looters and vandals, Turks who tried to eliminate Armenian history from the area and poorly managed archaeological digs.