Written by Gevork Nazaryan

ni, the splendid city of Bagratuni Armenia at its peek of prosperity had a population of more than 100,000 people, which for those early medieval times was quiet a large number. Ani was a castle and an outpost from the V th to IX th centuries. Capital of Bagratuni Armenia from the X th to XI th century and a city of great trade, commerce and culture, where caravans from distant and far away lands of China and India crossed on their way to trade cities of Byzantium, Europe and Near East. Ani was called "The City of 1001 Churches by its contemporary chroniclers and people alike, for it contained numerous churches and buildings of great splendor and magnificence. Now the city is a ghost town, as the Turks who occupy Ani and all of Western Armenia like to call. The once crowded streets and marketplaces of the Great City of Ani, which was once one of the biggest cities of its time are empty. Only the magnificent ruins of beautiful churches and city walls which remind us of the time long ago passed, when Ani was called the Mother of all Cities of Armenia. Now days Armenians from the other side of river Arax, which is now "state boundary" between Republic of Armenia and Turkey, from the city of Gyumri which is only 7km away from the great city, watch and hope that someday they can once again rebuild and repopulate their beloved city of Ani, the capital of the Bagratuni Kings of Armenia.

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Ani: City of 1001 Churches

Ani Ancestral City: Nazar Nazaruni forefather of the Nazaryan Family
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