St. Hakob-Hayrapet Monastery of Paraka
Location: Paragha (Az.) / Paraka (Arm.)
Destruction
When historian Argam Ayvazyan documented the St. Hakob-Hayrapet Monastery of Paraka during his fieldwork (1964-1987), the church of the monastery was still standing, but the porch adjacent to its western facade as well as the refectory, associated monastic buildings, and outer walls were in ruins. 1 Nestled in a small glen at the edge of a mountain, this striking domed basilica had a main apse, two-storied vestries on either side, and a cupula with 12 windows set atop four cruciform pillars (see plan below). Reliefs and khachkars adorned the walls, while the western doorway bore ornamental bands. 1 There were Armenian inscriptions on the western, southern, and northern facades. 2
IKONOS satellite imagery shows that the monastery was razed and the site cleared by February 3, 2000 (swipe below, right). The monastery was documented in KH-9 Hexagon imagery from July 29, 1973 (swipe below, left) and March 29, 1978.
Drag the swipe tool right to see the monastery in 1973; drag left to see the site in 2000 after the monastery's destruction.
Geolocation
St. Hakob-Hayrapet Monastery was located adjacent to the slope of a hill 1km northwest of Paraka. 1,2 The monastery's location is marked on 1:50K scale Soviet topographic maps of 1933 and 1974. CHW confirmed the monastery's precise location using KH-9 Hexagon satellite imagery dated July 29, 1973.
Timeline
Construction
Founded in the 12th or 13th century; renovated between 1691 to 1701 according to an Armenian inscription on the tympanum of the doorway. 1,2,3
1933
The monastery is marked on the 1:50K scale Soviet topographic map of 1933. 4
1973
The monastery is visible on KH-9 Hexagon satellite imagery dated July 29, 1973. 5
1974
The monastery is marked on the 1:50K scale Soviet topographic map of 1974. 6
2000
The monastery was destroyed by February 3, 2000, as demonstrated by the IKONOS image at right. 7
2019
The erasure of the monastery is confirmed in a higher quality 2019 WorldView-3 image. 8
Image Gallery
Images © Argam Ayvazyan Archive and Research on Armenian Architecture (last two photos), used with permission.
References
1 Ayvazyan, Argam. The Historical Monuments of Nakhichevan. Transl. Krikor H. Maksoudian. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990, p. 36-37.
2 Ayvazyan, Argam. Nakhijevani ISSH haykakan hushardzannery. Hamahavak tsutsak. Yerevan: Hayastan, 1986, p. 63.
3 Research on Armenian Architecture, Nakhijevan: Atlas. Yerevan: Tigran Metz Publishing House, 2012.
4 Upravlenie voennykh topografov RKKA, J-38-32-G (Paraga), 1:50,000, 1933.
5 KH-9 Hexagon, D3C1206-100170A021, July 29, 1973.
6 Generalnyi shtab, J-38-32-G (Tivi), 1:50,000, 1974.
7 Maxar Technologies & East View Geospatial, February 3, 2000.
8 Maxar Technologies and ESRI, August 14, 2019.
