Nagorno-Karabakh - 2013

Writing from centuries past adorns the interior walls of the main church in the Gandzasar monastery near Vank in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Over time, crosses have been etched in to the exterior walls. Gandzasar monastery, Vank, Nagorno-Karabakh.

Coming in to Agdam, a ruined and abandoned city, we found poppies growing by the roadside. Agdam, or Akna, is not really in Nagorno-Karabakh, but in Azerbaijan territory occupied by the Armenian military. Not quite no-man's land, but a dead zone for all intents and purposes, until the entire Karabakh question is resolved.

Abandoned and in disrepair, the mosque near the centre of Agdam is one of the few buildings to retain its form and whose original function is discernible. It is still possible to access the roof and to climb the minarets. The street was a main road, but is slowly giving in to the encroachment of trees and shrubs.

From the roof of the abandoned mosque in Agdam, looking towards some of the remains of the buildings that were once part of the centre of town.

Another photo taken from the roof of the mosque in Agdam. The remains of the low rise housing, mainly one and two storey buildings, are slowly being engulfed by the trees. Every building has been picked through many times, firstly for anything resalable including bathroom and kitchen fittings, and secondly for anything recyclable, particularly scrap metals and building materials. Amongst all the things left behind are occasional stoves and refrigerators, as well as the shells of cars and trucks.