1518 TR - Archaeological Site of Ani (2016)

This site is located on a secluded plateau of northeast Turkey overlooking a ravine that forms a natural border with Armenia. This medieval city combines residential, religious and military structures, characteristic of a medieval urbanism built up over the centuries by Christian and then Muslim dynasties. The city flourished in the 10th and 11th centuries CE when it became the capital of the medieval Armenian kingdom of the Bagratides and profited from control of one branch of the Silk Road. Later, under Byzantine, Seljuk and Georgian sovereignty, it maintained its status as an important crossroads for merchant caravans. The Mongol invasion and a devastating earthquake in 1319 marked the beginning of the city’s decline. The site presents a comprehensive overview of the evolution of medieval architecture through examples of almost all the different architectural innovations of the region between the 7th and 13th centuries CE.

Source UNESCO WH website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1518

Courtesy of PC_2 from postcrossing forum

Cathedral of Ani

The church of the Holy Redeemer

Manuchihr Mosque

Chapel in the Monastery of the Hripsimian Virgins

The Church of Saint Gregory of Tigran Honents

Church of St. Gregory of the Abughamrents

Bazaar

background is the city wall