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January 21, 2011 Friday 5:07 PM EST
Elle Shoots Fashion Spread In Ruined Armenian City [In/fashion]
Jan. 21, 2011 (Gawker Media delivered by Newstex) --
In 1064, Turkish armies laid siege to Ani, a bustling, largely
Armenian city of 200,000. They were ordered to destroy Ani, and kill
everyone they found. In 2011, Elle Turkey used the ruins left behind
for a fashion story.
Sensitive! Especially considering the modern-day Turkish state's
highly contentious relationship with its neighbor, Armenia. The
Ottoman genocide against Armenians is still a fraught subject in
Turkey, which doesn't accept that the deportations, forced marches,
and massacres that together killed around 1-1.5 million Armenians
during World War I were in fact a genocide. (Hitler later said that he
expected his attempt to exterminate the Jews would go unremarked,
arguing, "Who now remembers the Armenians?") Today, Ani lies within
Turkish territory, very near the Armenian border.
Ani was famous for its ecclesiastical architecture, including its
cathedral, which was completed in 1001. The Turkish dynasty
responsible for the city's destruction, the Seljuks, spent the 11th
Century expanding across what are now Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq,
Georgia, Syria, and Armenia; taking Ani, which had been under
Byzantine control, was part of those plans. For more on Ani's
fascinating and complex history, Kuriositas has a detailed photo
essay:
In its heyday it was a metropolis which rivaled Constantinople, Cairo
or Baghdad as a center of culture and enterprise...The city is the
victim of a colossal and centuries old struggle for power between
various factions in the region. Founded in the fourth or fifth century
AD the following millennium saw Armenians, Kurds, Georgians, Mongols
and Turks struggle for and ascend to power in the city-state.
To summarize: As it turns out, after the Seljuk Turks overran Ani,
they didn't quite kill all of the civilians ' many had escaped to the
countryside before the siege began. The Seljuks eventually sold Ani to
the (predominantly Muslim) Kurds, who tolerated the (predominantly
Christian) Armenians. Eventually, neighboring (predominantly
Christian) Georgia forced the Kurds out and the city was returned to
Armenian control. Then, in the 13th Century, the Mongols invaded.
Later, it was another Turkish dynasty. Finally, Ani came under Ottoman
control.
All the war and unrest, together with institutional neglect on the
part of the Ottomans, meant that Ani never recovered its position of
power within the region. By the mid-18th Century, the last inhabitants
abandoned the city.
The siege and the destruction of the city in 1064, however, stands out
in the minds of many Armenians as a particularly poignant example from
the long history of Turkish attempts to suppress their culture. Just
the place for photographer Senol Altun and stylist Melis Agazat to
show off this season's bag, then.
The setting, ruined as it is, is very beautiful. Ani is on the Global
Heritage Fund's list of world monuments most in danger of irreparable
loss and destruction. Armenia accuses Turkey of hastening Ani's demise
as a historical and archaeological site through neglect. Turkey says
Ani has been destabilized by earth-moving activity at a nearby
Armenian quarry.
Armenian newspapers and blogs have picked up the story ' and so have
some Turkish ones. Mostly, this is just sad: A threatened heritage
site is no place for a fashion spread like this. Given Ani's history,
and given the fact that the city stands on ground that is still in
dispute, what did Elle Turkey think was going to happen?
From: A. Papazian
January 21, 2011 Friday 5:07 PM EST
Elle Shoots Fashion Spread In Ruined Armenian City [In/fashion]
Jan. 21, 2011 (Gawker Media delivered by Newstex) --
In 1064, Turkish armies laid siege to Ani, a bustling, largely
Armenian city of 200,000. They were ordered to destroy Ani, and kill
everyone they found. In 2011, Elle Turkey used the ruins left behind
for a fashion story.
Sensitive! Especially considering the modern-day Turkish state's
highly contentious relationship with its neighbor, Armenia. The
Ottoman genocide against Armenians is still a fraught subject in
Turkey, which doesn't accept that the deportations, forced marches,
and massacres that together killed around 1-1.5 million Armenians
during World War I were in fact a genocide. (Hitler later said that he
expected his attempt to exterminate the Jews would go unremarked,
arguing, "Who now remembers the Armenians?") Today, Ani lies within
Turkish territory, very near the Armenian border.
Ani was famous for its ecclesiastical architecture, including its
cathedral, which was completed in 1001. The Turkish dynasty
responsible for the city's destruction, the Seljuks, spent the 11th
Century expanding across what are now Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq,
Georgia, Syria, and Armenia; taking Ani, which had been under
Byzantine control, was part of those plans. For more on Ani's
fascinating and complex history, Kuriositas has a detailed photo
essay:
In its heyday it was a metropolis which rivaled Constantinople, Cairo
or Baghdad as a center of culture and enterprise...The city is the
victim of a colossal and centuries old struggle for power between
various factions in the region. Founded in the fourth or fifth century
AD the following millennium saw Armenians, Kurds, Georgians, Mongols
and Turks struggle for and ascend to power in the city-state.
To summarize: As it turns out, after the Seljuk Turks overran Ani,
they didn't quite kill all of the civilians ' many had escaped to the
countryside before the siege began. The Seljuks eventually sold Ani to
the (predominantly Muslim) Kurds, who tolerated the (predominantly
Christian) Armenians. Eventually, neighboring (predominantly
Christian) Georgia forced the Kurds out and the city was returned to
Armenian control. Then, in the 13th Century, the Mongols invaded.
Later, it was another Turkish dynasty. Finally, Ani came under Ottoman
control.
All the war and unrest, together with institutional neglect on the
part of the Ottomans, meant that Ani never recovered its position of
power within the region. By the mid-18th Century, the last inhabitants
abandoned the city.
The siege and the destruction of the city in 1064, however, stands out
in the minds of many Armenians as a particularly poignant example from
the long history of Turkish attempts to suppress their culture. Just
the place for photographer Senol Altun and stylist Melis Agazat to
show off this season's bag, then.
The setting, ruined as it is, is very beautiful. Ani is on the Global
Heritage Fund's list of world monuments most in danger of irreparable
loss and destruction. Armenia accuses Turkey of hastening Ani's demise
as a historical and archaeological site through neglect. Turkey says
Ani has been destabilized by earth-moving activity at a nearby
Armenian quarry.
Armenian newspapers and blogs have picked up the story ' and so have
some Turkish ones. Mostly, this is just sad: A threatened heritage
site is no place for a fashion spread like this. Given Ani's history,
and given the fact that the city stands on ground that is still in
dispute, what did Elle Turkey think was going to happen?
From: A. Papazian