Kars and Ani

So the highlight of my entire trip to eastern Turkey was a visit to Ani, regarded by many as the most impressive historical site in this half of the country. In order to get to Ani, I took a train from Erzurum to Kars. This time I was only on the train about six hours, but since Kars is the last stop on the line, the train arrived five hours past the scheduled time. Having now spent a considerable amount of time on the Turkish railway system, I can say this. In terms of value, trains are the cheapest way to travel in Turkey, quite a bit cheaper even than the buses. Though the trains are slow, for that same reason they generally make for a pleasant ride, which can't be said for many of the buses I've been on.

Once in Kars I checked it at a good hotel and then met up with up with an English-speaking guide suggested by "The Rough Guide to Turkey," Celil. He offered me a place on a group visit to Ani the next day, and then we discussed whether I'd be interested in seeing other monuments in the area. Of course I was, but given that I was travelling by myself and most tourists weren't interested in seeing the other monuments, in the end I visited only Ani. In the future, I would rent a car to circumvent the trouble of trying to organize groups of tourists to go to these various sites, as not many visitors to the region take the trouble to visit any sites besides Ani.

The next day, I piled into a van with nine other tourists and went to Ani. Ani was spectacular, but I will save a detailed description for later, as right now I cannot upload photos. Some observations about the site. Contrary to what my guidebook had led me to believe, Ani is no longer militarized at all. The kale, for instance, was completely off-limits to travelers as recently as a few years ago. This is no longer the case. Indeed, there is only one monastery perched atop a hill for which remains inaccessible.

My entire time at Ani there was a great deal of (re)construction occurring. This is both a good and a bad thing. It's good that the site is now receiving the attention it deserves, and the surviving frescoes in particular badly need restoration (I've heard such a restoration is currently in the works). In most of the cases I saw, however, the reconstruction of the site had been carried too far. The walls of the city, which were already substantial before recent work began, have now been augmented on a colossal scale by the reconstruction. As for buildings, the Seljuk palace and mosque along with the city cathedral have received the most attention so far. The Seljuk palace in particular now looks ridiculous, with hardly an original stone to be found in the entire building. There are differing schools of thought as to how to effect a reconstruction, and I understand the maximal restorationist viewpoint, but here it's been carried to extremes.

Notwithstanding the reconstruction, Ani is amazing. As mentioned, I'll save a detailed description for later.