Tweet
CATHEDRAL IN KARS ON WMF WATCH LIST
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Oct 10 2013
NEW YORK
The Cathedral of Mren in the eastern province of Kars has been
announced as one of the cultural and historical heritages in the
world that should be preserved by the World Monuments Fund (WMF).
The World Monuments Watch list, which was initiated by WMF in 1996,
launched its watch list for 2014. WMF President Bonnie Burnham said
that 67 works from 41 countries and regions were under risk and should
be preserved. Among them is the 7th century Cathedral of Mren in Kars.
"Constructed during the Byzantine-Persian wars and at the beginning
of the Arab conquests, the cathedral represents a moment of creation
and collaboration during a time of major destruction. Mren is
representative of the churches built in medieval Armenia and Georgia.
It is thought to be the largest preserved domed basilica from
seventh-century Armenia, built with rubble masonry and decorated with
interior frescoes and a ceramic tile roof. The settlement ceased to
exist after the Turkmen invasions in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, and the cathedral has been abandoned and exposed to the
elements for hundreds of years," the WMF website explains about
the cathedral.
For the first time, all heritage sites in Syria and Mali have been
included on the list, which is normally dedicated to individual sites,
AFP reported. Mali and Syria have some of the oldest sites on the
list, with the cliff of Bandiagara known to have been inhabited tens
of thousands of years ago.
The citadel in Aleppo, the northern Syrian city torn apart by a
30-month civil war, dates back to the early Bronze Age, 3300-2200 BC.
"In Syria, the ongoing civil conflict has a terrible toll on monuments
and sites which continues. We placed the entire country of Syria in
the watch list," said WMF president Burnham.
The city of Venice, which has been overrun by cruise-ship traffic and
tourists, and New Jersey's Hudson River Palisades are also among 67
sites that need to be preserved.
October/10/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/cathedral-in-kars-on-wmf-watch-list.aspx?pageID=238&nID=55977&NewsCatID=379
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Oct 10 2013
NEW YORK
The Cathedral of Mren in the eastern province of Kars has been
announced as one of the cultural and historical heritages in the
world that should be preserved by the World Monuments Fund (WMF).
The World Monuments Watch list, which was initiated by WMF in 1996,
launched its watch list for 2014. WMF President Bonnie Burnham said
that 67 works from 41 countries and regions were under risk and should
be preserved. Among them is the 7th century Cathedral of Mren in Kars.
"Constructed during the Byzantine-Persian wars and at the beginning
of the Arab conquests, the cathedral represents a moment of creation
and collaboration during a time of major destruction. Mren is
representative of the churches built in medieval Armenia and Georgia.
It is thought to be the largest preserved domed basilica from
seventh-century Armenia, built with rubble masonry and decorated with
interior frescoes and a ceramic tile roof. The settlement ceased to
exist after the Turkmen invasions in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, and the cathedral has been abandoned and exposed to the
elements for hundreds of years," the WMF website explains about
the cathedral.
For the first time, all heritage sites in Syria and Mali have been
included on the list, which is normally dedicated to individual sites,
AFP reported. Mali and Syria have some of the oldest sites on the
list, with the cliff of Bandiagara known to have been inhabited tens
of thousands of years ago.
The citadel in Aleppo, the northern Syrian city torn apart by a
30-month civil war, dates back to the early Bronze Age, 3300-2200 BC.
"In Syria, the ongoing civil conflict has a terrible toll on monuments
and sites which continues. We placed the entire country of Syria in
the watch list," said WMF president Burnham.
The city of Venice, which has been overrun by cruise-ship traffic and
tourists, and New Jersey's Hudson River Palisades are also among 67
sites that need to be preserved.
October/10/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/cathedral-in-kars-on-wmf-watch-list.aspx?pageID=238&nID=55977&NewsCatID=379