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ARMENIAN CATHEDRAL NEAR KARS, TURKEY, ON VERGE OF COLLAPSE - US EXPERT ALARMS
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/04/03/mren/
10:42 ~U 03.04.13
Dr. Christina Maranci, Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T. Oztemel Associate
Professor of Armenian Art and Architecture at Tufts University
in Medford, Mass., has issued a call to save the 7th century Mren
Cathedral of Armenia, located in the Kars region of present-day Turkey,
The Armenian Reporter writes.
Prof. Maranci's areas of expertise include Byzantine
art and architecture, and the art and architecture of the
Transcaucasus-principally Armenia. She is considered one of the
world's authorities on the Mren Cathedral.
According to Dr. Maranci, "the cathedral of Mren is now in danger of
collapse. Constructed circa 638 AD, Mren is a masterpiece of world art
and a product of the 'Golden Age' of Armenian architecture. Bearing an
inscription naming the Roman emperor Heraclius, and a unique sculpted
relief image of Heraclius returning Christendom's greatest relic¬-the
True Cross-to Jerusalem, Mren preserves precious material evidence for
one of the most dramatic and yet poorly documented moments in history.
It is also the largest domed basilica surviving from the region, and a
key example of the architectural achievements of the seventh century."
Dr. Maranci stresses that Mren may not be standing much longer.
"Photographs from the 1990s to the first decade of the 21st century
show the progressive collapse of the south facade. Now the entire south
aisle lies in rubble on the ground, severely compromising the domed
superstructure of the monument and opening the interior and its wall
paintings to the elements," she says. "The prospect of stabilizing what
is left is at present doubtful, however, because of Mren's position
within a military zone in Eastern Turkey (Kars province) next to the
closed Armenian-Turkish border. Visiting the site is forbidden."
Dr. Maranci is campaigning to raise awareness about Mren's precarious
condition. "Mren has stood for over a millennium, bearing world history
on its walls," she says. Its collapse would represent a tragic loss
to human knowledge."
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/04/03/mren/
10:42 ~U 03.04.13
Dr. Christina Maranci, Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T. Oztemel Associate
Professor of Armenian Art and Architecture at Tufts University
in Medford, Mass., has issued a call to save the 7th century Mren
Cathedral of Armenia, located in the Kars region of present-day Turkey,
The Armenian Reporter writes.
Prof. Maranci's areas of expertise include Byzantine
art and architecture, and the art and architecture of the
Transcaucasus-principally Armenia. She is considered one of the
world's authorities on the Mren Cathedral.
According to Dr. Maranci, "the cathedral of Mren is now in danger of
collapse. Constructed circa 638 AD, Mren is a masterpiece of world art
and a product of the 'Golden Age' of Armenian architecture. Bearing an
inscription naming the Roman emperor Heraclius, and a unique sculpted
relief image of Heraclius returning Christendom's greatest relic¬-the
True Cross-to Jerusalem, Mren preserves precious material evidence for
one of the most dramatic and yet poorly documented moments in history.
It is also the largest domed basilica surviving from the region, and a
key example of the architectural achievements of the seventh century."
Dr. Maranci stresses that Mren may not be standing much longer.
"Photographs from the 1990s to the first decade of the 21st century
show the progressive collapse of the south facade. Now the entire south
aisle lies in rubble on the ground, severely compromising the domed
superstructure of the monument and opening the interior and its wall
paintings to the elements," she says. "The prospect of stabilizing what
is left is at present doubtful, however, because of Mren's position
within a military zone in Eastern Turkey (Kars province) next to the
closed Armenian-Turkish border. Visiting the site is forbidden."
Dr. Maranci is campaigning to raise awareness about Mren's precarious
condition. "Mren has stood for over a millennium, bearing world history
on its walls," she says. Its collapse would represent a tragic loss
to human knowledge."