247 Items
Church of the Apostles 
The remains of the Church of the Apostles. The structure appears very unstable hence why no images of the interior were taken during my visit.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Apostles, Armenian, Church, Medieval, Turkey
The Citadel Palace Church
Only one wall of the palace church remains standing. Nikolai Marr restored it to an extent but the restorations have since collapsed. Stands on the summit of the citadel hill behind the palace.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Armenian, Church, Citadel, Medieval
The Hexagonal Church
This small church is fairly well preserved with its walls standing to some height in a relatively unbroken circuit. Its size and its position on the southern tip of the citadel hill probably means it is frequently overlooked by most tourists.
Church of St Gregory of King Gagik
Built during the reign of King Gagik in the late 10th and early 11th centuries AD and intended to be a copy of the cathedral of Zvartnots (in modern day Armenia). The architect of the Ani cathedral was commissioned to build Gagik's church but flaws in its design meant it was very unstable. Attempts to strengthen the church failed and it collapsed not long after. Gagik's famous church was lost until the excavations of Nikolai Marr revealed it's location.
Sadly due to time constraints further investigation and collection of images of this church were not possible during my visit.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Armenian, C10th-C11th, Cathedral, Church, Turkey
Church of St Gregory the Abughamrents
A small but well preserved church on the western edge of the plateau the city occupied. Believed to be late tenth century and to have been commissioned by Prince Grigor Pahlavuni. Interior used to be frescoed but was later whitewashed.
Church of St. Gregory of Tigran Honents
An inscription on the Eastern wall of the church tells us that the church was built by a wealthy merchant, Tigran Honents, in 1215 AD. At the time Ani was under Georgian control and the church is believed to have been Georgian orthodox originally with the impressive and well preserved frescos within speculated as having been painted by Georgian artists.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Armenian, C13th, Church, Fresco, Georgian, Inscription, Turkey
Church of the Redeemer
Inscriptions on the outside of the church reveal it was built in the 11th century to house a piece of the True Cross that had been brought back as a gift from Constantinople. This substantial church was largely intact until 1957 when, during a storm, half of the superstructure collapsed. The other half is incredibly unstable and access to it is now blocked for that reason. Scaffolding has been employed in what appears to be an attempt to hold the remaining half up.
Ani Cathedral
Inscriptions on its outer faces give us the origins of the cathedral. Construction work began in 989 AD and after a brief hiatus in work was completed in 1001 AD. The city was captured in 1064 by the Turks who converted the cathedral into a mosque. It was restored to its Christian usage in 1124.
It has been significantly damaged in recent years by the use of explosives at a nearby mine on the Armenian side of the border. As a result significant sections of the Cathedral are now being supported by metal brackets.
Traces of the frescos that covered the Cathedral can still be seen in the whitewashed apse.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Armenian, C10th-C11th, Cathedral, Church, Medieval, Turkey
General views of Ani and immediate surroundings
These are just general views of what remains of the city of Ani. These vistas of the city were taken from multiple vantage points around the city.
Type: Archaeological Site
Tags: Archaeology, Architecture, Armenian, Cathedral, Church, Fortifications, Georgian, Medieval, Mosque, Turkey
View east over the site of the church
This view shows the sarcophagus in the foreground and looks east to a plastered iconostasis and steps up to the sanctuary. Beyond that is the chamber where the sick are believed to have stayed for three days and three nights and prayed for a cure.
Type: Archaeological Excavation
Tags: Archaeological Excavation, Archaeology, Church, Dayr Mar Elian, Dayr Mar Elian Archaeological Project, Mar Elian, Mar Elian esh-Sharqi, Qaryatayn, Sarcophagus, Syria, Syrian Civil War