St. Karapet Monastery of Abrakunis
Location: Abragunus (Az.) / Aprakunis (Arm.)
Destruction & Reuse
St. Karapet Monastery is one of the celebrated monuments of medieval Armenian architecture. The main church was still standing when historian Argam Ayvazyan documented the site during his fieldwork (1964-1987). It was an important spiritual and cultural hub from the 14th to 18th centuries, founded by well known medieval Armenian thinkers and established as a theological school. The main church of the monastery was a basilica with a tall, eight-windowed cupola (see plan below). The main apse had two-storied vestries on either side, one of which led to a secret subterranean chamber where manuscripts and relics were stored. The western doorway was decorated with reliefs, khachkars, and carved bands, while Armenian inscriptions could be found on the western, northern, and eastern facades. In 1740, Hakob and Harutyun Hovnatanyan, members of a prominent Armenian family of painters, added frescoes to the apse and dome, and fragments were still visible when Ayvazyan documented the monastery. 1,2
Visible in KH-9 Hexagon imagery of July 23, 1973 and March 29, 1978 (first swipe below, left), IKONOS satellite imagery shows that St. Karapet Monastery was erased by October 7, 2001 (first swipe below, right). In subsequent years, a mosque was built in its place.
Drag the swipe tool right to see the monastery in 1973; drag left to see the vacant site after the monastery's destruction.
Drag the swipe tool right to see the vacant former site of the monastery site in 2001; drag left to see the site in 2017 after the construction of a mosque on the site.
Geolocation
Situated near Abrakunis village, St. Karapet Monastery was 1km north of the Yernjak river. 1 The monastery's location is marked on Soviet topographic maps of 1931 (1:42K scale), 1940 (1:50K scale), and 1974 (1:50K scale). CHW confirmed the monastery's precise location using KH-9 Hexagon satellite imagery dated July 29, 1973.
Timeline
Construction
Founded in 1381; rebuilt 1648-49 by the well-known architect, David; renovated again in 1653 and 1656. 1,2,3
1931
The monastery is marked on the 1:42K scale Soviet topographic map of 1931. 4
1940
The monastery is marked on the 1:50K scale Soviet topographic map of 1940. 5
1973
The monastery is visible on KH-9 Hexagon satellite imagery dated July 29, 1973. 6
1974
The monastery is marked on the 1:50K scale Soviet topographic map of 1974. 7
2001
The monastery was destroyed before October 7, 2001, when an IKONOS satellite image captured an image of the now vacant site. 8
2012
Research on Armenian Architecture publishes the destruction of the monastery using Google Earth imagery. 3
2017
The new mosque is visible in the August 11, 2017 GeoEye image at right. 9
Image Gallery
Images © Research on Armenian Architecture (first two) and Argam Ayvazyan Archive, used with permission.
References
1 Ayvazyan, Argam. The Historical Monuments of Nakhichevan. Transl. Krikor H. Maksoudian. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990, p. 66-70.
2 Ayvazyan, Argam. Nakhijevani ISSH haykakan hushardzannery. Hamahavak tsutsak. Yerevan: Hayastan, 1986, p. 97.
3 Research on Armenian Architecture, Nakhijevan: Atlas. Yerevan: Tigran Metz Publishing House, 2012.
4 Voenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie, XL-38 (Paradasht), 1:42,000, 1931.
5 Generalnyi shtab RKKA, J-32-38-V (Abrakunis), 1:50,000, 1940.
6 KH-9 Hexagon, D3C1206-100170A020, July 29, 1973.
7 Generalnyi shtab, J-38-32-V (Bananiyar), 1:50,000, 1974.
8 Maxar Technologies & East View Geospatial, October 7, 2001.
9 Maxar Technologies & ESRI, August 11, 2017.
