Richard And Jo Demeester's photos with the keyword: ruin

The 19th Century Portuguese prison at Aipelo.

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.

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.

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.

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.

It is now 25 years since a devastating earthquake killed 50,000 people, displaced many times more, and ruined the city of Gyumri and neighbouring towns and villages. The population is growing, but oh so slowly. And still, in some areas of the cities, many buildings lie in disrepair. Some are shells, with walls and ceilings that somehow have managed to hang on all these years, despite their precarious angles. The building pictured was ruined and collapsed at both ends, exposing the dwellings there. You can see the elaborate wall decorations, perhaps from dining or sitting rooms. Yet the centre part of the building is still used and lived in. The doorways from these exposed rooms are boarded up, yet the next rooms are occupied, lights and furniture indicating the spaces which are inhabited. The other end told a similar story.

We decided to walk between Haghpat and Sanahin, and thought we would find the way quite easily. We did make it, but are not too sure if we went the most direct way possible. We only got directions once, and they were quite vague, and we don't feel like we followed them, but in hindsight, there did not appear to be a better alternative. Anyway, so maybe we were lost, and maybe we weren't, but on the way we encountered this fantastic little church amongst ruins. It sat on a rocky outcrop just below the plateau that Sanahin sits on. There were cliffs below, cliffs opposite, and cliffs along the sides of the plateau. The little sanctuary was tidy and had a few candle stubs, and was therefore visited by worshippers on occasion. However, we still felt like it was our little discovery because of the remote setting, difficult approach, and the ruins around it.

Ruins overlook the village of Ateni, not far from Gori, Georgia.

Lots of crumbling walls, but heaps of atmosphere, and a handful of fine details for the keen eye. Muktagacha Rajbari.