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Ruined city of Ani set for new excavations
armradio.am
13:49 27.10.2012
Ani, a ruined and uninhabited Armenian city situated in the eastern
Turkish province of Kars on the Armenian frontier, will be the subject
of new academic work to better present site to visitors.
Archaeologists are planning renewed excavations next year in Ani, an
ancient Armenian city in the eastern province of Kars, the Hurriyet
Daily News reports.
Academics from Pamukkale University in Denizli have applied to lead
the excavation works and are currently conducting negotiations with
the Culture and Tourism Ministry, according to Hakan DoÄ?anay, the Kars
culture and tourism director.
There are two application programs and three projects for the ruins
that are right on the border with Armenia, he said, noting that the
work was expected to finish by the end of 2013.
The work will involve creating a detailed map of the site, which was
once the center of a powerful Armenian empire and possessed a
population of between 100,000 and 200,000 over a millennium ago,
making it one of the biggest cities in the world at the time.
Ani was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered
much of present-day Armenia and eastern Turkey. Ani is protected on
its eastern side by a ravine formed by the Akhurian River and on its
western side by the Bostanlar or Tzaghkotzadzor valley. The Akhurian
is a branch of the Araks River and forms part of the current border
between Turkey and Armenia.
Dubbed the `City of 1001 Churches,' Ani stood on various trade routes,
and its many religious buildings, palaces, and fortifications were
among the most technically and artistically advanced structures in the
world at the time, according to specialists. Unearthing the ruins at
Ani would shed light on the past, DoÄ?anay said.
DoÄ?anay said the site occupied 78 hectares of land and was surrounded
by 4,500-meter-long ramparts. In addition to its numerous churches,
the site also features the remains of an inn, a public bath, a mosque
and other buildings, DoÄ?anay said.
The site was located on the historic Silk Road and formed the first
gate connecting the Caucasus to Anatolia before a sea route was
discovered.
Ani is on the World Cultural Heritage List. `Ani is a city of
universal religions. We call it a world city since people from all
nations, cultures, and races live there,' DoÄ?anay said.
`It is essential to bring this world city to light and give it to the
world as soon as possible. Our workings are ongoing in a planned and
systematical way,' DoÄ?anay said.
In 2011, 21,460 people visited Ani. Sixty percent of them were
foreign, while 40 percent were locals. `We think they were attracted
since Ani is a world city,' the cultural official said, the Hurriyet
Daily News says.
armradio.am
13:49 27.10.2012
Ani, a ruined and uninhabited Armenian city situated in the eastern
Turkish province of Kars on the Armenian frontier, will be the subject
of new academic work to better present site to visitors.
Archaeologists are planning renewed excavations next year in Ani, an
ancient Armenian city in the eastern province of Kars, the Hurriyet
Daily News reports.
Academics from Pamukkale University in Denizli have applied to lead
the excavation works and are currently conducting negotiations with
the Culture and Tourism Ministry, according to Hakan DoÄ?anay, the Kars
culture and tourism director.
There are two application programs and three projects for the ruins
that are right on the border with Armenia, he said, noting that the
work was expected to finish by the end of 2013.
The work will involve creating a detailed map of the site, which was
once the center of a powerful Armenian empire and possessed a
population of between 100,000 and 200,000 over a millennium ago,
making it one of the biggest cities in the world at the time.
Ani was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered
much of present-day Armenia and eastern Turkey. Ani is protected on
its eastern side by a ravine formed by the Akhurian River and on its
western side by the Bostanlar or Tzaghkotzadzor valley. The Akhurian
is a branch of the Araks River and forms part of the current border
between Turkey and Armenia.
Dubbed the `City of 1001 Churches,' Ani stood on various trade routes,
and its many religious buildings, palaces, and fortifications were
among the most technically and artistically advanced structures in the
world at the time, according to specialists. Unearthing the ruins at
Ani would shed light on the past, DoÄ?anay said.
DoÄ?anay said the site occupied 78 hectares of land and was surrounded
by 4,500-meter-long ramparts. In addition to its numerous churches,
the site also features the remains of an inn, a public bath, a mosque
and other buildings, DoÄ?anay said.
The site was located on the historic Silk Road and formed the first
gate connecting the Caucasus to Anatolia before a sea route was
discovered.
Ani is on the World Cultural Heritage List. `Ani is a city of
universal religions. We call it a world city since people from all
nations, cultures, and races live there,' DoÄ?anay said.
`It is essential to bring this world city to light and give it to the
world as soon as possible. Our workings are ongoing in a planned and
systematical way,' DoÄ?anay said.
In 2011, 21,460 people visited Ani. Sixty percent of them were
foreign, while 40 percent were locals. `We think they were attracted
since Ani is a world city,' the cultural official said, the Hurriyet
Daily News says.