Ani - Wild and desolate grandeur
Today Ani largely remains a forgotten ancient Armenian ghost town in modern day Turkey. Travelers, writers, and other adventurers through ages have described Ani with high regard. I think there is no better way to describe Ani but through the words of the people who have visited the site. Therefore below a selection of these heartwarming accounts.
----------------
Baron Max von Thielmann (1872) in his book ‘Journey in the Caucasus, Persia, and Turkey In Asia’ describes seeing Ani and its marvelous architecture that at “some parts are as fresh-looking as if they were only completed yesterday.” He further describes the sensation of being at the site as follows:
“On reaching a gentle ridge extending between two hills some 200 feet in height (near Kara-Kala in the Five Verst Map), a panorama disclosed itself to our gaze, which for wild and desolate grandeur is perhaps unparalleled. Before us lay extended a rocky plain about five miles in length, and at its further extremity was a mighty city, surrounded by walls with towers, churches and palaces – a noble pile, but devoid of animation.
The associations aroused by this scene were enhanced a thousand-fold by the tranquility and desolation which prevailed; for in days gone by the capital of a mighty empire had stood on this very spot in full glory and magnificence; and so intense was the impression occasioned by this solitude amongst ruins, that, even later on at Babylon and at Palmyra, I did not experience so acute a sensation.”
------------------
British army officer Major-General Charles Gordon in his letter describes an account of his visit to Ani in the year 1857:
“The third day of our tour we passed through Ani the ancient capital of Armenia. This city is completely deserted, and has splendid churches still standing in it. These churches are capitally built and preserved. Some coloured drawings on their walls are to be seen even now. I have obtained some views for you from this interesting place. The towers and walls are almost intact; but the most extraordinary thing about so large a place is the singular quietness.
I feel myself unable to describe this extraordinary place as it ought to be done.”
------------------
Konstantin Paustovski a Russian Soviet writer, a Nobel prize nominee described Ani in 1923 with the following quotes:
“What is Ani like? There are things beyond description, no matter how hard you try.”
“On the other bank we saw basilicas, tiled Armenian domes and a complete absence of human beings. It was the ruins of the ancient Armenian capital, Ani – one of the real wonders of the world.”
------------------
Foreign travelers are not the only once to have recorded Ani in such regard. Armenians who have visited the site of the ancient abandoned Armenian capital often had a hard time holding back their emotions. Basmadjian in 1903 describes the sites as follows:
“The traveler or the pilgrim, whether coming by horseback, by carriage, or even on foot, before arriving at this city in mourning, looks towards the site with a thousand thoughts. He is impatient; he strains to see it – even for just a moment – from afar, one doesn’t know if it is to feel an inner contentment or to satisfy the longings of many years. It is a powerful feeling, an unexplainable desire, that burns, that strains at the hearts of all Armenians and even those of foreign travellers.
And then your companions cry out “ANI!” It is as if a bomb had suddenly exploded, or an electrical current had crossed your body! You tremble; the regular flow of your breathing is altered; your heart pounds; your nerves soften; you are filled with emotions and your eyes begin to moisten with tears; you are no longer your own master; the tears that you initially held back you now allow to flow, to pour down your cheeks. You cry like a child, in front of these crumbling walls, these half destroyed buildings, these heaps of moss covered stones that awaken old and powerful memories in you.”
Ani - Wild and desolate grandeur
Today Ani largely remains a forgotten ancient Armenian ghost town in modern day Turkey. Travelers, writers, and other adventurers through ages have described Ani with high regard. I think there is no better way to describe Ani but through the words of the people who have visited the site. Therefore below a selection of these heartwarming accounts.
----------------
Baron Max von Thielmann (1872) in his book ‘Journey in the Caucasus, Persia, and Turkey In Asia’ describes seeing Ani and its marvelous architecture that at “some parts are as fresh-looking as if they were only completed yesterday.” He further describes the sensation of being at the site as follows:
“On reaching a gentle ridge extending between two hills some 200 feet in height (near Kara-Kala in the Five Verst Map), a panorama disclosed itself to our gaze, which for wild and desolate grandeur is perhaps unparalleled. Before us lay extended a rocky plain about five miles in length, and at its further extremity was a mighty city, surrounded by walls with towers, churches and palaces – a noble pile, but devoid of animation.
The associations aroused by this scene were enhanced a thousand-fold by the tranquility and desolation which prevailed; for in days gone by the capital of a mighty empire had stood on this very spot in full glory and magnificence; and so intense was the impression occasioned by this solitude amongst ruins, that, even later on at Babylon and at Palmyra, I did not experience so acute a sensation.”
------------------
British army officer Major-General Charles Gordon in his letter describes an account of his visit to Ani in the year 1857:
“The third day of our tour we passed through Ani the ancient capital of Armenia. This city is completely deserted, and has splendid churches still standing in it. These churches are capitally built and preserved. Some coloured drawings on their walls are to be seen even now. I have obtained some views for you from this interesting place. The towers and walls are almost intact; but the most extraordinary thing about so large a place is the singular quietness.
I feel myself unable to describe this extraordinary place as it ought to be done.”
------------------
Konstantin Paustovski a Russian Soviet writer, a Nobel prize nominee described Ani in 1923 with the following quotes:
“What is Ani like? There are things beyond description, no matter how hard you try.”
“On the other bank we saw basilicas, tiled Armenian domes and a complete absence of human beings. It was the ruins of the ancient Armenian capital, Ani – one of the real wonders of the world.”
------------------
Foreign travelers are not the only once to have recorded Ani in such regard. Armenians who have visited the site of the ancient abandoned Armenian capital often had a hard time holding back their emotions. Basmadjian in 1903 describes the sites as follows:
“The traveler or the pilgrim, whether coming by horseback, by carriage, or even on foot, before arriving at this city in mourning, looks towards the site with a thousand thoughts. He is impatient; he strains to see it – even for just a moment – from afar, one doesn’t know if it is to feel an inner contentment or to satisfy the longings of many years. It is a powerful feeling, an unexplainable desire, that burns, that strains at the hearts of all Armenians and even those of foreign travellers.
And then your companions cry out “ANI!” It is as if a bomb had suddenly exploded, or an electrical current had crossed your body! You tremble; the regular flow of your breathing is altered; your heart pounds; your nerves soften; you are filled with emotions and your eyes begin to moisten with tears; you are no longer your own master; the tears that you initially held back you now allow to flow, to pour down your cheeks. You cry like a child, in front of these crumbling walls, these half destroyed buildings, these heaps of moss covered stones that awaken old and powerful memories in you.”