STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHS OF ANI

"Vues du Caucase" Series


A stereograph showing Ani from the "Vues du Caucase" series that is identical to card N°34 from Kurkdjian's series on Ani.


The cards produced by Kurkdjian are the best known stereoscopic photographs of Ani. However, at least two other commercial series of cards exist. "Vues du Caucase" was a large set of stereoscopic cards illustrating the Caucasus region of the Russian Empire, produced for the tourist market probably in the 1890s. It included some views of Ani. Although the words on the cards imply that the photographs are by Dimitri Ermakow (1845 - c1916) who was based in Tiflis and practiced as a photographer between 1880 and 1915, those that show Ani are actually Kurkdjian's photographs and are either reprints or copies of his original cards.

Aram Vruyr's Stereoscopic Photographs of Ani

The 16 cards shown below are from a set of 50 different cards produced by Aram Vruyr. They seem to date from the 1900s. Vryur was a photographer employed by Nikolai Marr to record the excavations and the monuments at Ani.


The "Lion Gate" and its flanking towers


Rear view of a tower near the "Lion Gate"


View along the walls towards the "Lion Gate"


The city walls beside the Gayladzor valley


An exterior view of the Baron's Palace


Interior walls and basement of the Baron's Palace


Church n°10, overlooking the Igadzor valley


The church of Saint George and (on the right)
the tombstone of King Ashot III, at the monastery
of Horomos, near Ani - click here for a larger photo


The rear of the "Lion Gate" and its towers


Walls and towers to the right of the "Lion Gate"


The rear of the "Kars Gate" and its towers


The city walls beside the Gayladzor valley


The Baron's Palace seen from the Igadzor valley


The northwest corner of the cathedral


Some caves in the Tsaghkotsadzor valley


Toros T'oramanian standing beside some architectural fragments discovered during the excavations at Ani - click here for a larger photo