Ruins of Ani, in eastern Anatolia. Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, beside the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey.
“At night it was up to my aunt Yughaper to put me to sleep by singing a lullaby, which she did with a tender, cooing voice: ‘The city of Ani weeps/And no one tells her/Do not weep/Do not weep!’ That mournful song filled me with despair and a heavy melancholy oppressed my soul. I wanted to wail and scream in order to dissipate that dark feeling, but I knew through experience that there was an easier way out. I therefore closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep, whereupon my aunt Yughaper’s voice faded away and died. The moment I realized I was all alone in the bedroom, I opened my eyes. By the flickering candlelight I could see elongated shadows bearing down on me from dark corners. I saw silhouettes of ghosts floating in the air, and when I closed my eyes in panic, I saw the city of Ani seated among ruins, weeping. But unlike the handsome woman of the famous painting…my Ani was a wretched, helpless old man.”
-Zabel Yessayan, from The Gardens of Silihdar (1935), translated by Ara Baliozian.
[a study of ruins, what remains]
Reposted via F&O FABFORGOTTENNOBILITY
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