Ani Archaeological Site

Ani lies about 44 kilometres east of Kars, beside the village of Ocaklı, on the frontier between Türkiye and Armenia. Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016, it was known in its heyday as the "city of 1,001 churches" and a cosmopolitan Silk Road stop, and traces of settlement go back as far as 5000 BC. The city owes its strength to a high, easily defended rock plateau above the Arpaçay and Alacasu valleys.

Inside the 78-hectare site, walls about 4.5 kilometres long and around eight metres high, strengthened by square and round towers, enclose 21 buildings: churches, a mosque, a bath, a palace, a caravanserai and a bridge. The Lion Gate, with its roaring lion relief and an inscription commissioned by Manuçehr, is the most striking of the entrances.

The best-preserved landmark is the Great Cathedral, later used as a mosque. Its foundations were laid around 990 and it was completed in 1001 by Queen Katranide, to plans by the architect Trdat, who also repaired Hagia Sophia. Nearby stand the Seljuk mosque of Manuçehr, built in 1072 with a richly decorated ceiling, the half-ruined Church of the Redeemer, struck by lightning, and other churches, a convent and a Zoroastrian fire temple.