We arrived at Kars after hitch-hiking from the city of Aardvin. We were very lucky as the man who was driving us went out of his way to drop us off right to the entrance, despite it being over 45 minutes outside of the city. We had read a lot about Ani and were anticipating much. Perhaps it was the... More

We had read a lot about Ani, an ancient city near the Armenian border, and were expecting to be impressed. Depite the heat of a late July day, we very pleased to spend a couple hours exploring historic, partly ruined churches and other building scattered across the open steppe. Some builidngs were right on the edge of the gorge serving... More

If you find yourself in the NE of Turkey near the city of Kars be certain to visit the ancient ruined city of Ani. The location is remote (probably 30 miles east of Kars). If you are not driving I would suggest joining a tour group as a taxi ride would be expensive and I do not believe that there... More

The tiny place of Ani in the East of Turkey is brilliant - quite eerie with the Armenian sniper towers in the distance. You can watch the cows go back and forth between Turkey & Armenia through the holes in the border fence - hilarious. It's at the end of the road from Kars - a pretty ordinary place -... More

Ani City Ruins were a special treat situated beside the Akhurian river in Turkey and bordering Armenia. The medieval city was formerly enclosed by a wall which only partially exists now. Perhaps the highlight of the former city is the Church of St. Gregory, built in the 1200s. The church overlooks the river and within houses some beautiful frescoes. Its... More

Ani is about 45 minutes by car from Kars through green fields with cows and cowherds. We were there early June and the wildflowers were out. The combination of old ruins and beautiful spring flowers was wonderful.Many photos were taken with that combination of history and beauty. We spent 3.5 hours wandering around so be sure to take water and... More

We visited Ani, the old Armenian capital. It is located on the border with Armenia (closed border at the time of our visit). It is an amazing sight to see, with a large section of city wall remaining, as well as a remarkable number of buildings. The site is quite large and requires about 3-4 hours to visit. The part... More

The ruins of Ani, on a beautiful summer's day with beautiful wild flowers growing, is a sight to behold. At first, you wonder whey you need 3 hours to get around but you do. The buildings are lovely and the Pompeii-like state gives you a good idea of what it would have been like. The proximity to the present-day border... More

Ani is a ruined city near Kars. Until recently it was hard to visit as it is right on the (closed) Armenian border. We were staying in Kars and the hotel directed us to CELIL a local guide who arranged a trip with an Australian (making three of us) at 35YTL each. There is no bus to Ani so this... More