On our way to Ani

There are more livestock than people in the wide open plains on our way from Kars to Ani. It's about a 45 minute drive. The taxi gets you there, waits for you and brings you back. This guy was very cheap, 60TL, it's usually about 100TL. They usually wait for 3-4 hours, it took us 2 hours to see the place. It's right next to Armenia. This area was fought over between the Turks and Russia for a long time until after the first world war, Armenia was divided into half, this half at Ani became Turkey and the other half was part of the USSR before the break up of the USSR. Now that half is the independent Republic of Armenia with its capital at Yerevan just across the border. Kars was under Russian rule for some time and Russian influence is still evident in the architecture of some of the buildings. In its hey day, Ani rivalled Constantinople in importance. It had as many people living in it as in Constantinople. It had a lot of churches, it rivals another place in being called the place of 'thousand and one churches.' An earthquake decimated it in the 13th century and it became abandoned ever since. Since a few years ago, a special permit to visit had to be obtained from the tourism office. Now that permit is not necessary. However there are still some sensitive areas that are off limits to visitors.
The only reason to be in Kars is because of its close proximity to Ani. Ani is the only reason to be in Kars at all.