• Photo from "L,e Tour Du Monde' 



THE RUINS OF ANI, THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OP ARMENIA 



During the early Middle Ages the Armenians, who have long been under Turkish rule, 

 were independent. Ani was their capital, and it had its fortresses, palaces, and churches. 

 Many of them are still standing, but the city does not contain a single inhabitant. It fell into 

 the hands of the Turks in the fourteenth century and was desolated. For 500 years patriotic 

 Armenians have returned from time to time to this scene of their former greatness, usually 

 dwelling in its grottoes during their stay. These grottoes were hewn out of the solid rock 

 upon which Ani was built. 



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