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Dual Survival: Man and Church in the Lake Van Region of Historic Armenia
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/10/26/dual-survival-man-and-church-in-the-lake-van-region-of-historic-armenia/
By Matthew Karanian // October 26, 2013
Story and photos by Mathhew Karanian
(Special to the Armenian Weekly)
If you've ever watched a reality survival show on television - one of
those shows were a couple of adventurers get dropped off in a desert
with instructions to survive long enough to make it back home - then you
might be able to conjure up an image of me hiking in Historic Armenia.
I was on the shore of Lake Van, researching and photographing the
Armenian churches of the region.
My goal for this day was modest: hike to the ancient Armenian
monastery of St. Thomas, a monastery that looks older than the
treeless mountain that it's perched upon. Survival was the last thing
on my mind.
But my priority for the day changed when I was about mid-way through
the 90-minute trek to the top.
The 10th to 11th century Armenian Monastery of St. Thomas rests on a
hilltop above the southeast shore of Lake Van. (Photo by Matthew
Karanian)
This was roughly about the same time that my supply of water ran out.
Remember, survival had been the last thing on my mind. So, of course I
hadn't carried any water.
The mid-day temperature was pushing closer to 100 degrees, and I had
begun to reminisce about better times - like the time, earlier that day,
when the mercury hadn't yet risen above 90.
The mid-day temperature was pushing closer to 100 degrees, and I had
begun to reminisce about better times - like the time, earlier that day,
when the mercury hadn't yet risen above 90. (Photo by Matthew
Karanian)
I still wanted to see the church.
But now that the risks of dehydration and heat stroke had been added
to my itinerary, my priority was to make it back down the mountain. I
wanted it all! I wanted to see the church, and I also wanted to
survive.
I was hiking with Khatchig Mouradian, the Editor of the Armenian
Weekly. He and I had the same goals. Better yet, he also had some
water. He offered me half of what remained in his bottle. We were
brothers in arms, and would share our water supply, 50-50. I reached
for the bottle. It contained about two ounces of warm water.
I was incredulous. `Really, Khatchig, I can only have one ounce?'
Yes, he replied. `We will need the rest to survive.'
I took a drink, and we continued our ascent.
There were no trees to shelter us from the sun as we scrambled up the
mountain, but every two or three hundred feet there was some dwarf
scrub that cast just enough shade to offer a bit of relief from the
heat. We dashed from brush to brush, like soldiers in battle, until we
had reached the monastic walls of St. Thomas.
We dashed from brush to brush, like soldiers in battle, until we had
reached the monastic walls of St. Thomas. (Photo by Matthew Karanian)
We discovered that the survival of the church was also at risk.
A Remote Treasure
The buildings of St. Thomas were constructed in the tenth and eleventh
centuries, and are stoically sited on a mountaintop overlooking the
southeast shore of Lake Van. The main surviving building, the
cathedral, is about one thousand years old.
The current peril to the structure is caused, at least in part, by
local people who are acting upon a long-discredited myth. Some of the
Kurds who now live in Historic Armenia believe, incorrectly, that
there is buried treasure at Armenian churches.
And so some of these treasure seekers dig for gold and jewels wherever
they see the ruins of an Armenian site. Judging from what I observed
at St Thomas last month, some people appear to have believed that
there was treasure hidden in the ground beneath this church, too.
We saw holes dug in the earth near the foundation, at the entrance,
and in the church yard. These excavations have undermined the
foundation of St. Thomas, and similar burrowing undermines other
churches, such as the nearby Karmravank, where treasure hunters have
also sought supposedly long lost gold.
The ruins of Karmravank, on the southeast shore of Lake Van, a short
distance from the Monastery of St. Thomas. (Photo by Matthew Karanian)
According to the discredited myth, Armenians buried gold and other
valuables beneath the altars and near the points of entry to their
churches. Ask a Kurdish villager if the Armenians supposedly did this
while fleeing during the Genocide, or whether they buried their gold
as a matter of routine in the years before the Genocide, and they are
apt to just shrug their shoulders.
The odds of buying a winning lottery ticket are better than the odds
of finding buried treasure at an Armenian church, because the odds of
finding the buried treasure are zero. There's no treasure. But people
still buy lotto and they still dig for treasure.
Even if the legend was true, which it isn't, any treasure would surely
have been dug up many years ago. Still, logic and truth have not
deterred treasure hunters, even now, a century after the Armenians
were expelled from this area.
As a result, the only treasures that really exist in places such as
St. Thomas and at nearby Karmravank - the sacred structures
themselves - are at risk of being destroyed.
We made it safely back down the mountainside, and found plenty of
shade and water. We lived to share the story of yet another ancient
Armenian site that may not survive.
Matthew Karanian is an author and attorney, and he practices law in
Pasadena, Calif. He has spent several years working in Armenia as
both law professor and Associate Dean at the American University of
Armenia. His latest book is `Armenia and Karabakh: The Stone Garden
Travel Guide. He is currently working on a new book about Historic
Armenia that will be published in 2015. Book details at
www.ArmeniaTravelGuide.com and at www.Amazon.com
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/10/26/dual-survival-man-and-church-in-the-lake-van-region-of-historic-armenia/
By Matthew Karanian // October 26, 2013
Story and photos by Mathhew Karanian
(Special to the Armenian Weekly)
If you've ever watched a reality survival show on television - one of
those shows were a couple of adventurers get dropped off in a desert
with instructions to survive long enough to make it back home - then you
might be able to conjure up an image of me hiking in Historic Armenia.
I was on the shore of Lake Van, researching and photographing the
Armenian churches of the region.
My goal for this day was modest: hike to the ancient Armenian
monastery of St. Thomas, a monastery that looks older than the
treeless mountain that it's perched upon. Survival was the last thing
on my mind.
But my priority for the day changed when I was about mid-way through
the 90-minute trek to the top.
The 10th to 11th century Armenian Monastery of St. Thomas rests on a
hilltop above the southeast shore of Lake Van. (Photo by Matthew
Karanian)
This was roughly about the same time that my supply of water ran out.
Remember, survival had been the last thing on my mind. So, of course I
hadn't carried any water.
The mid-day temperature was pushing closer to 100 degrees, and I had
begun to reminisce about better times - like the time, earlier that day,
when the mercury hadn't yet risen above 90.
The mid-day temperature was pushing closer to 100 degrees, and I had
begun to reminisce about better times - like the time, earlier that day,
when the mercury hadn't yet risen above 90. (Photo by Matthew
Karanian)
I still wanted to see the church.
But now that the risks of dehydration and heat stroke had been added
to my itinerary, my priority was to make it back down the mountain. I
wanted it all! I wanted to see the church, and I also wanted to
survive.
I was hiking with Khatchig Mouradian, the Editor of the Armenian
Weekly. He and I had the same goals. Better yet, he also had some
water. He offered me half of what remained in his bottle. We were
brothers in arms, and would share our water supply, 50-50. I reached
for the bottle. It contained about two ounces of warm water.
I was incredulous. `Really, Khatchig, I can only have one ounce?'
Yes, he replied. `We will need the rest to survive.'
I took a drink, and we continued our ascent.
There were no trees to shelter us from the sun as we scrambled up the
mountain, but every two or three hundred feet there was some dwarf
scrub that cast just enough shade to offer a bit of relief from the
heat. We dashed from brush to brush, like soldiers in battle, until we
had reached the monastic walls of St. Thomas.
We dashed from brush to brush, like soldiers in battle, until we had
reached the monastic walls of St. Thomas. (Photo by Matthew Karanian)
We discovered that the survival of the church was also at risk.
A Remote Treasure
The buildings of St. Thomas were constructed in the tenth and eleventh
centuries, and are stoically sited on a mountaintop overlooking the
southeast shore of Lake Van. The main surviving building, the
cathedral, is about one thousand years old.
The current peril to the structure is caused, at least in part, by
local people who are acting upon a long-discredited myth. Some of the
Kurds who now live in Historic Armenia believe, incorrectly, that
there is buried treasure at Armenian churches.
And so some of these treasure seekers dig for gold and jewels wherever
they see the ruins of an Armenian site. Judging from what I observed
at St Thomas last month, some people appear to have believed that
there was treasure hidden in the ground beneath this church, too.
We saw holes dug in the earth near the foundation, at the entrance,
and in the church yard. These excavations have undermined the
foundation of St. Thomas, and similar burrowing undermines other
churches, such as the nearby Karmravank, where treasure hunters have
also sought supposedly long lost gold.
The ruins of Karmravank, on the southeast shore of Lake Van, a short
distance from the Monastery of St. Thomas. (Photo by Matthew Karanian)
According to the discredited myth, Armenians buried gold and other
valuables beneath the altars and near the points of entry to their
churches. Ask a Kurdish villager if the Armenians supposedly did this
while fleeing during the Genocide, or whether they buried their gold
as a matter of routine in the years before the Genocide, and they are
apt to just shrug their shoulders.
The odds of buying a winning lottery ticket are better than the odds
of finding buried treasure at an Armenian church, because the odds of
finding the buried treasure are zero. There's no treasure. But people
still buy lotto and they still dig for treasure.
Even if the legend was true, which it isn't, any treasure would surely
have been dug up many years ago. Still, logic and truth have not
deterred treasure hunters, even now, a century after the Armenians
were expelled from this area.
As a result, the only treasures that really exist in places such as
St. Thomas and at nearby Karmravank - the sacred structures
themselves - are at risk of being destroyed.
We made it safely back down the mountainside, and found plenty of
shade and water. We lived to share the story of yet another ancient
Armenian site that may not survive.
Matthew Karanian is an author and attorney, and he practices law in
Pasadena, Calif. He has spent several years working in Armenia as
both law professor and Associate Dean at the American University of
Armenia. His latest book is `Armenia and Karabakh: The Stone Garden
Travel Guide. He is currently working on a new book about Historic
Armenia that will be published in 2015. Book details at
www.ArmeniaTravelGuide.com and at www.Amazon.com