Ani · A Thousand and One Churches

Ani was once the capital of an Armenian kingdom and at its height was said to hold “a thousand and one churches”. Today it is an empty city: broken walls, and the remains of a mosque and churches standing in open country.

It passed through looting, earthquakes and war, and was finally abandoned altogether in the twentieth century.

No one lives in the city now, only shepherds and border guards. Visitors say the wind through the empty doorframes sounds like someone walking inside — and there is nothing behind the doorframes.

Haunted Ruins / Kars · Türkiye / 10th century