The Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, Omer Celik, said in a recent interview with the press that his department is doing everything possible to speed up the process of including the ruins of the ancient Armenian city of Ani in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The Minister noted that the Turkish authorities consider it extremely important to resolve this issue before the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
The ancient capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Ani, better known as the “city of a thousand and one churches,” was already included in the temporary UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012, but in order to transfer Ani to the permanent list, it is necessary to overcome a number of bureaucratic procedures.
Omer Celik noted that the planned complex of restoration and reconstruction works in the ruins of Ani will be carried out by a group of international specialists under the auspices of experts from the Middle East Technical University.
