All About World Heritage Sites

Source: Dovecotes in ‘Cradle of Civilization’ enchants pigeon enthusiasts

It may have taken as much as one thousand years, but images deliberately obscured and faded are now coming to light in the famous cathedral of Ani. Dr. Christina Maranci, Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T. Oztemel Professor of Armenian Art at Tufts University, has used accessible software tools to reveal more clearly some of this art and an inscription, and she has done this all from her home in Somerville, near Boston.

Source: Art History Under Lockdown: Tufts Art Historian Maranci Discovers Ani Cathedral Wall Paintings and More – The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh, UC Davis art history professor, has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, among 175 given by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to mid-career scholars, artists and scientists who have demonstrated a previous capacity for outstanding work and continue to show exceptional promise.

Source: Heghnar Watenpaugh Wins Guggenheim Fellowship

On the eastern borders of Turkey in the province of Kars lies the ruined Armenian city of Ani. Renowned as a cultural and commercial centre on the Silk Road, Ani grew to become a bustling metropolis of over 100,000 inhabitants at its height.

Source: Ani – The Ruined City of 1001 Churches – HeritageDaily – Archaeology News

Source: World heritage in Turkey: Ani, the forgotten ghost city of the northeast

A delegation of EU ambassadors to Turkey was impressed by an archaeological site in Turkey’s northeastern Kars province, Ani, also known as “the world city”…

Source: Anybody Knows Where’s The World City? | Al Bawaba

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Ani is a Middle Age city of remarkable historical importance, one in urgent need of preservation and protection…

Source: Turkey’s legacy of civilisation is a blueprint for the future – Geographical Magazine

Source: Autumn arrives in Ani, the cradle of civilizations

Home to a host of ancient civilizations, Ani carries the legacies of all of them. The ancient site in Turkey’s east is also home to 11th and 12th century structures of Islamic architecture, offering visitors a picturesque experience and an historical trip…

Source: Ani in eastern Turkey under snow, flocked by tourists

The Cathedral of Ani is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was converted into a mosque after the conquest of Ani by the Seljuk Sultan Alparslan in 1604. Restorations will begin this month for the cathedral, which is among 23 artifacts that have survived in the ancient ruins.

Ani, which has been dubbed as the “World City,” “City of 1,001 Churches,” “Cradle of Civilizations,” and “City of 40 Gates,” is one of the earliest settlements, dating back to 3,000 B.C.

Throughout history, the Saka Turks, Sasanian empire, Bagratid dynasty, Byzantine empire, Seljuk empire, Ottoman empire and Russian empire have reigned on the ancient site. The cathedral carries a separate meaning because it was the first conquest (“fetih”) in Anatolia, after which the first Friday prayers were performed in Anatolia when it became the Fethiye Mosque.

Bagratid King Smbat II laid the foundations for the cathedral in 990 A.D. and after his death, its construction was completed in 1001 A.D. by Queen Katranide, the wife of King Gagik I, Smbat’s brother and successor. It was later converted into a mosque by the Seljuk Sultan Alparslan.

Read more from source: Cathedral of Ani to be restored in Turkey’s Kars

Regarded as a cradle of civilizations that has seen many dynasties throughout the centuries, the Ani archaeological site is growing in popularity with local and foreign tourists, especially after it was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List

Registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Ani archaeological site, also known as the “city of a thousand and one churches”, attracts tourists all year round. The ancient city, which houses Islamic architectural works of the 11th and 12th centuries, was added to the World Heritage List on July 15, 2016.

Ani is located in the northeast of Turkey, close to Arpaçay district in Kars province, on a secluded triangular plateau overlooking a ravine that forms the natural border with Armenia.

This medieval city that was once one of the cultural and commercial centres on the Silk Roads, is characterized by architecture that combines a variety of domestic, religious and military structures, creating a panorama of medieval urbanism built up over the centuries by successive Christian and Muslim dynasties.

Source: Ani – a combination of architecture, archaeology and geography creating a unique beauty – Fethiye Times

Ancient settlement of Ani in the eastern province of Kars attracts more tourists during winter months. Officials say the number of visitors tripled after the Eastern Express became more accessible

A nostalgic train line from the capital Ankara to the eastern province of Kars has tripled the number of people visiting the ancient city of Ani, once the seat of an Armenian kingdom and now on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Located close to the Arpaçay district on the Turkish-Armenian border in Kars, Ani was the capital of Armenian royalties between 961 and 1045 A.D. at the time of the Bagratuni Dynasty. Home to 11th and 12th century structures of Islamic architecture, Ani entered the tentative UNESCO World Heritage list in 2012 and the permanent list on July 15, 2016.

The first settlement in Ani dates back to the 3000s B.C.; it later became home to many civilizations including the Saka Turks, Sasanians, Bagratuni Dynasty, Byzantine, Seljuk, Ottomans and Russians.

Tourists arriving in Kars, after disembarking from the Eastern Express, visit the Cıbıltepe and Sarıkamış ski centers and Çıldır Lake and then visit the the ancient city of Ani.

Source: Eastern Express triples number of tourists visiting Ani

The archaeological site of Ani, which has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, attracts the attention of both the society and the professionals.

As Asbarez news reports, the number of tourists visiting ancient Armenian city of Ani has doubled after the city was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The experts claim that Ani is a genuine world heritage, playing an important role for Kars and its surroundings. Therefore, plans have been laid out to restore the site within one-two years.

Medieval Armenian capital of Ani was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List upon the decision made at the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2016.

Located on the border of present-day Turkey and Armenia, Ani a medieval Armenian city. Armenian chroniclers such as Yeghishe and Ghazar Parpetsi first mentioned Ani in the 5th century.

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Our Digital Nomad reaches Turkey’s ancient site of Ani, recently awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status

“Tesnem Anin u nor mernem” (‘Let me see Ani and die’)
– Line from a poem by 20th-century Armenian poet Hovhannes Shiraz

Nearing the Iran-Turkey border, the land rises like a wrinkled duvet. The wide plains between the hills are studded with herds of wild camel and men shepherding shaggy sheep. Then, looming above it all, is conical Mount Ararat — Turkey’s highest peak — crowned with snow and a skullcap of cloud. Famous as the ridge where Noah’s Ark is said to have come to rest, it’s a beacon that signals our crossing into Asia Minor. In the mountain’s shadow, we pass over the border at Doğubeyazıt. “Not pronounced ‘doggy biscuit’,” jokes our guide, Tolga, greeting us at the gates.

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