Your trusted source

Famous British writer Chris McNab published a new book -Ghost towns.

"These spooky towns were abandoned and overtaken by nature after volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and nuke disasters A new book reveals creepy, deserted towns all over the world that few people have seen.THESE eerie images reveal ghost towns that have been abandoned and overtaken by nature following volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and nuke disasters. The new book from Chris McNab reveals lost places that few have seen'',-wrote The Sun.

Among them is is a ruined medieval Armenian city Ani, which now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia.

Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the Bagratid Armenian kingdom that covered much of present-day Armenia and eastern Turkey. Called the "City of 1001 Churches", Ani stood on various trade routes and its many religious buildings, palaces, and fortifications were amongst the most technically and artistically advanced structures in the world. 

Long ago renowned for its splendor and magnificence, Ani was sacked by the Mongols in 1236 and devastated in a 1319 earthquake, after which it was reduced to a village and gradually abandoned and largely forgotten by the seventeenth century. Ani is a widely recognized cultural, religious, and national heritage symbol for Armenians. Ani is one of the most visible and ‘tangible’ symbols of past Armenian greatness and hence a source of pride.

Below episodes from the book's chapter wich dedicated to Ani

The Church of the Redeemer (Surb Prkich), Turkey

The Church of the Redeemer in Ani, Turkey, or least what remains of it after hundreds of years of decay and weathering.

The church's construction was completed in 1035, and it was restored at several points throughout its history before it was finally left to the elements in the mid-18th century (along with the rest of the city).

The collapse of the entire eastern half of the church most likely dates to 1957.

During that year local people remember a huge storm one night, accompanied by the sound of crashing masonry in the distance as the church's neglected structure finally gave way.

Ani, Turkey

Few abandoned religious buildings carry the moody visual impact of the Church of St Gregory in Ani, Turkey.

The church was built in the 13th century, in a position high above the Arpaçay gorge.

The interior features impressive frescoes on two themes – the Life of Christ and the Life of St Gregory the Illuminator.

Ani is a ruined Armenian city, now located in the Turkish province of Kars.

Founded in the fifth century, the city rose to become the capital of the Bagratid Armenian kingdom in the 10th and 11th centuries, before war and time reduced it to ruins by the 17th century.