“Armenian Churches in Eastern Turkey
A Legacy for Humanity”
St. Vartan Armenian Apostolic Church is presenting an exhibition of photographs of Armenian Churches in Eastern Turkey on Saturday and Sunday, March 8 and 9.
The exhibition is an expanded version of a 45-print exhibition which St. Vartan hosted in 1994. Prepared by photographers and attorneys Richard and Anne Elbrecht of Davis, California, the exhibition now consists of 90 photographs, including those resulting from visits to Turkey in 1996 and 2002.
The exhibition is organized into eighteen groups:
1. Kars Province
2. Ani: City of One Thousand and One Churches
3. Khtskonk Monastery (Beskilise)
4. Cathedral of Mren
5. Dogubayazit and Mount Ararat
6. Monastery of Varag (Yedi Kilise)
7. City and Fortress of Van
8. Lake Van: Monastery of Saint John at Ktuts (Carpanak)
9. Lake Van: Church of the Holy Cross at Aght’amar
10. Lake Van: Monastery of Surb Tovma (Saint Thomas) at Gandzak
11. Churches at Moks (Bahcesaray)
12. Surb Kirakos Church and Walls of Diyarbakir
13. Churches of Urfa (Edessa, Sanliurfa)
14. Cilicia and Its Churches
15. Kharpert, Malatya, and Amasya
16. Monastery and Fortress at Koghonia (Shabin Karahisar)
17. Churches at Giresun and Trabzon (Black Sea Coast)
18. Oltu-Penek Valley and Church of Banak
Members of St. Vartan and guests who visited the 1994 presentation of the exhibition will recall the “forest” of 45 large and attractively framed photographs of Armenian churches in Turkey, including churches at Kars, Ani, Varag, Carpanak, Gandzak, Aght’amar, Diyarbakir, Urfa, Giresun, and Trabzon.
In 1996, the Elbrechts returned to Ani to photograph additional churches, resulting in what is now a comprehensive photographic coverage of historic Armenia’s most famous city, perhaps the centerpiece of the exhibition. The Elbrecht’s 1996 visit also included the 7th century church at Mren, said by the Turkish military authorities to be inaccessible, and also churches at Khtskonk, Moks, Shabin Kirahisar, and Penek.
In 2002, the Elbrechts visited Armenian Cilicia, including Tarsus, birthplace of St. Paul and site of two important churches. In one of these, now called the “Church-Mosque,” Armenian King Leo was crowned. The Elbrechts also re-visited Diyarbakir, where they photographed Surb Kirakos Church, and Urfa, where they photographed the interior of the Church of Surb Astvatsatsiin, now the Selahettin Eyyubi Mosque.
All of the photographs are accompanied by captions that describe the context, history, and architectural features of the photographed churches. Many of the photographs are accompanied by ground plans of the churches and other related illustrations. The photographs of the ruins of several churches that were destroyed in the 20th century (Khtskonk, Varag, Kaimakli) are supplemented by photographs that were made they were destroyed.
The presentation will appeal to adults and children, to Armenians and persons of other ethnic backgrounds, and to scholars and others interested in Armenian history, art, architecture, or religion.
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