<P> In 1918, during the latter stages of World War I, the armies of the Ottoman Empire were fighting their way across the territory of the newly declared Republic of Armenia, capturing Kars in April 1918 . At Ani, attempts were made to evacuate the artifacts contained in the museum as Turkish soldiers were approaching the site . About 6000 of the most portable items were removed by archaeologist Ashkharbek Kalantar, a participant of Marr's excavation campaigns . At the behest of Joseph Orbeli, the saved items were consolidated into a museum collection; they are currently part of the collection of Yerevan's State Museum of Armenian History . Everything that was left behind was later looted or destroyed . Turkey's surrender at the end of World War I led to the restoration of Ani to Armenian control, but a resumed offensive against the Armenian Republic in 1920 resulted in Turkey's recapture of Ani . In 1921 the signing of the Treaty of Kars formalized the incorporation of the territory containing Ani into the Republic of Turkey . </P> <P> In May 1921, the government minister Rıza Nur ordered the commander of the Eastern Front, Kazım Karabekir, for the monuments of Ani to "be wiped off the face of the earth ." Karabekir records in his memoirs that he has vigorously rejected this command and it has never been carried out, but the wiping - out of all traces of Marr's excavations and building repairs suggests that the command was partially carried out . </P> <P> Today, according to Lonely Planet and Frommer's travel guides to Turkey: </P> <P> Official permission to visit Ani is no longer needed . Just go to Ani and buy a ticket . If you don't have your own car, haggle with a taxi or minibus driver in Kars for the round - trip to Ani, perhaps sharing the cost with other travelers . If you have trouble, the Tourist Office may help . Plan to spend at least a half - day at Ani . It's not a bad idea to bring a picnic lunch and a water bottle . </P>

Ani the city of a thousand and one churches