THE FASCINATING MONASTARIES OF LORI PROVINCE

 

Yerevan is a wonderful home base before an excursion into the ancient world. In Northern Ave, the city’s pulse, one can find boba cafes, grocery stores, artists and bookshops. The night before setting off to Haghpat Monastery, a religious complex completed no later than the 13th century, I found a churro stand tucked away in one of Yerevan’s alleyways painted with a colorful mural depicting a row of houses on one side and a memorial to the victims of the Armenian parliament massacre of 1999, a case which I remember distinctly making news waves in the States that year, on the other.

Likewise, Haghpat today is a relatively well populated area and continues to draw visitors each year. Ironically, however, the site was originally chosen for its inaccessibility as a measure to ward off invaders. The monastery sits atop a hillside partially hidden from view but with a beautiful view of the Debed River. Such was the vision of Queen Khosrovanuysh who envisioned the monastery as something of an impregnable fort when she designed the complex in 976. By and large her design proved successful and throughout the centuries Haghpat Monastery has become more a storage for the spoils of war than a target itself. Visiting its large scriptorium one can see wide holes dug into the earth, later filled with jars holding the battle loots, particularly those taken after the Siege of Mayyafariqin of 1260. The lead up to the siege came two years earlier when Prosh Khaghbakian and his cousins united a force of Georgian and Armenian fighters to assist a small invading Mongol army against the forces of Al-Kamil Muhammad who ruled the Turkish city. Christians were spared but thousands of Muslims were massacred. The battle concluded with the killing of Al-Kamil Muhammad in April of 1260 and the Christian artifacts carried back to Armenia, many of which are housed in the Haghpat Monastery to this day.

                                                                 Haghpat Monastery
                                             The underground storage of Haghpat Monastery
                                    

If Haghpat Monastery has been threatened in any substantial way over the years it has been by nature rather than man. But the complex has survived at least two major earthquakes, the latest being in 1988, and remains almost entirely intact.

Nature’s influence dominates my next stop, the Zarni Parni Cave Castle near the Areni village by the Arpa River. Its history dates back to the Bronze Age, but it has become the site of many archeological discoveries ranging from the oldest specimen of a human brain to evidence of an ancient winery.

                                                                    Zarni Parni Cave

Nature and military calculations combined at my next stop, the 10th century Akhtala Monastery. This stunning complex was strategically built amidst rocky canyons protections by Kiurike I. Once more in Armenia’s turbulent history, careful design (there is only one entrance to the fortress) has protected the monastery and it has long been regarded a token of national pride. Ingenuity, however, was greatly aided by nature and besides providing a natural shield, the surrounding copper deposits of the area gave the fortress its original name of Pghndzahank. Within this one-with-nature architecture are some of the most impressive religious murals I saw in Armenia, painted centuries later.

                                                                    Akhtala Fortress

                              

                                                      Akhtala Fortress, one with nature
                                            
                                                         The monastery inside Akhtala


My final stop on the Lori Province represents a significant cultural advancement in Armenian history. When construction on the Sanahin Monastery was begun in 966 by King Ashot the III and Queen Khosrovanuysh (the earliest structures built being the churches of St. Astvatsatsin and St. Amenaprkich), their son Kiurike I, who sealed his legacy with the Akhtala Monastery, used the structure to create a center of intellectual growth unlike anything seen in Armenia up to that time, building a school and a congregation for priests and students to confer. The spirit of Kiurike I’s foundation would be expanded on by Dioscoros Sanahnetsi who in the 11th century built a library and the chapel of St. Gregory. During this time, Sanahin Monastery became one of the most important educational centers of the region attracting intellects interested in subjects ranging from music to medicine and would become the birthplace of numerous manuscripts and orations foundational to the development of the region. This marked a significant turning point in the recognition of monasteries as a place of education beyond military strategy. 

                                                            Sanahin Monastery

Perhaps because of this, the monastery found itself more vulnerable to destruction during the Seljuk invasion of the late 11th century. However, by the end of the 12th century, when peace returned to the valley, the monastery once again began to draw the attention of scholars and over the next fifty years would be restored to its former glory. What Kiurike I never truly died. Sanahin Monastery continues to pull in the curious in droves each year, inspiring both awe and understanding.

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