Panegyrics of Granovetter · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source & license
Archaeological Site of Ani
The archaeological ground of the Bagratid capital beside Ocaklı, where red and variegated volcanic-tuff walls and the cathedral face the Arpaçay ravine.
The museum page places the site 44 kilometres east of Kars, beside Ocaklı, while the UNESCO text measures the same ruins at 42 kilometres and sets them on the ravine that forms the border with Armenia. The inner fortress is the highest ground, and the first occupation there reaches an Urartian layer. The northern walls run about 4,500 metres and stand about 8 metres high; the roaring lion relief at the Middle Gate and the inscription set there by Manuchehr are the readable markers of that circuit. Foundations of the Great Cathedral were laid in 990 under Bagratid king Sembat II, and Queen Katranide’s builders finished the red-tuff church in 1001 under the architect Tiridat, also named in the repair of Hagia Sophia. After Alp Arslan’s conquest in 1064 the same building served as the mosque of the first conquest prayers. The Menuçehr Mosque of 1072 has three naves; lightning split the Church of St Prkich, called Keçeli, and the Church of Tigran Honents dates to 1215.
Why visit
To walk one volcanic plateau and see the red-tuff cathedral, the lion gate, and the wall line along the canyon edge.
Because the ticket desk closes at 16:30, enter at the morning opening and walk the cathedral front before the midday haze.
