St. Gregory Church in Ani Ruins, Kars, Türkiye Dec. 29, 2025

St. Gregory Church in Ani Ruins, Kars, Türkiye

On a windswept plateau in eastern Türkiye, along the border with Armenia, the ruins of the ancient city of Ani rise from the landscape with striking clarity. A millennium ago, Ani was a thriving Armenian capital on a major Silk Road route, its fortifications and busy streets shaping trade and culture across the region. Today, the city is quiet, but its outline still carries the weight of its past.

© Kenan Talas/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

The butterfly effect
Dec. 29, 2023Oud-West neighbourhood, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dec. 29, 2024Borobudur temple, Java, Indonesia

More Desktop Wallpapers:

A chocolate lovers favourite fruit
May 5, 2026A bull moose foraging through the green undergrowth, Quebec
Mar. 21, 2025Happy International Day of Forests!
Jan. 25, 2026Burns Night in Scotland
Nov. 5, 2024Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil
Feb. 2, 2024Groundhog Day
Apr. 13, 2024Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
Jan. 29, 2024Gollinger Waterfalls, Salzburg, Austria
Oct. 31, 2023Halloween
Oct. 20, 2025International Sloth Day
Aug. 22, 2024Aerial view of Ocean City, Maryland, USA
Feb. 24, 2024Almond trees in full bloom, California
Eyes on the skies
Feb. 13, 2026Third Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge connecting Laos and Thailand
May 25, 2024Aït Benhaddou, Morocco
Jun. 9, 2025Old City of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia, Croatia
A window to the Pacific
Aug. 5, 2025Tide pools in La Jolla, California, United States
Boardwalk nostalgia
Oct. 13, 2023Jasper Dark Sky Festival
Oct. 27, 2025Thick-billed raven, Simien Mountains, Ethiopia
Jun 1, 2026Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Hiding in the woods
Sep 4, 2026Westerheversand Lighthouse, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Dec. 12, 2023Poinsettia Day
Dec. 21, 2024Happy winter solstice!
Kickoff in Qatar
Dec. 15, 2025Spiegelgracht canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Feb. 18, 2026Przewalskis horses
Sep 29, 2026The blue, glacier-fed waters of the Kasilof River, Alaska, USA