Bartholomew Monastery (Van)
Coordinates: 38 ° 8 ′ 59.8 ″ N , 44 ° 12 ′ 46.5 ″ E
The Bartholomew Monastery ( Armenian Սուրբ Բարթողոմէօս Վանք ) was a monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church built in the 13th century in the then Greater Armenian Province of Vaspurakan in the village of Albayrak near Başkale , in the province of Van in the extreme southeast of today's Turkey . The monastery was abandoned at the latest during the genocide of the Armenians from 1915.
location
The ruined monastery is located in the Armenian Highlands on a hill at about 2000 altitude . From the monastery you have a direct view of the valley of the Great Zap .
history
According to tradition, the St. Bartholomew Monastery was built on the site of Bartholomew's martyrdom . He is said to have been one of the apostles who brought Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century . Together with Saint Thaddäus Saint Bartholomew is considered the patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church. A monastery building is documented for the first time in 1398. The buildings were rebuilt or restored in 1755 and 1878. The monastery complex could go back to the 13th century or early Christian times.
Current situation
During the genocide of the Armenians, the monastery came under the control of the Turkish military from 1915 to 1916 and has been within the grounds of an army base ever since . Entering the site is not permitted as it is now a restricted military area. The monastery was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1966. The dome of the church was intact until the 1960s, but the entire structure has since been badly ruined and the dome has now disappeared.
The Turkish authorities want to restore the monastery. The relaxation in the Turkish-Kurdish conflict now makes it possible to open the site to the public. According to the head of the culture and tourism department in Van , the restoration should also serve to stimulate tourism in the region.
gallery
Saint Bartholomew Monastery 2009
Saint Bartholomew Monastery
See also
- Saint Thaddaeus Monastery , a 10th century Armenian monastery built in honor of Saint Thaddeus (then in Armenia, now in northwestern Iran)
- Mren Cathedral
- Tekor basilica
literature
- Patrick Donabédian: Documentation of the art places. In: Jean-Michel Thierry: Armenian Art . Herder, Freiburg / B. 1988, p. 492, ISBN 3-451-21141-6
- Thomas Alexander Sinclair: Eastern Turkey: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey. Volume 1, The Pindar Press, London 1989, pp. 215-217, ISBN 0-907132-34-0
Web links
- Pictures of the St. Bartholomew Monastery in the Rensselaer Digital Collections
- Images of the Saint Bartholomew Monastery
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Patrick Donabédian, Jean-Michel Thierry : Les arts arméniens. Éditions Mazenod, Paris 1987, ISBN 2-85088-017-5 , p. 472.
- ↑ Features in compact form. Retrieved February 6, 2014 .