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UNSEEN ARMENIA - AYRK
Thursday, July 10th, 2014 | Posted by Contributor
Soorp Gevorg church in Ayrk, 19th century
BY HOVSEP DAGHDIGIAN
Ayrk, in Gegharkunik Marz, is a village of about 50 households about 30
km south of Vartenis, to the south-east of Lake Sevan. It is reachable
from Vartenis by a bad but passable road.
The origin of the village is unknown but in the cemetery next to
its two small churches, Soorp Grigor and Soorp Astvatsatsin, some
of the khachkars (stone crosses) are dated to the 7-10th centuries,
indicating the village was in existence at that time.
Approaching the village a few roofs over the scattered houses were
visible in the distance, together with some destroyed buildings. We
wondered if there was really anything there and if continuing on would
be worthwhile. An approaching driver assured us that there were two
churches in the village, so we proceeded.
The village is poor, most of its young people leave for work in
Russia. Current villagers are primarily refugees from Azerbaijan,
with a few descendants of survivors of the Armenian Genocide in
western Armenia. The primary economic activity is raising animals,
and farming grain and potatoes. The climate is too cold to grow
fruit. In the valley below Ayrk is a milk processing facility which
processes and delivers the village's milk to market.
A village shepherd in Ayrk
We arrived at the two churches, about 100 yards apart, in mid-afternoon
with bright sun, a cool breeze, and a few beautiful white fluffy clouds
floating overhead. The two churches are small, simple rectangular
buildings, about the size of my kitchen, and are not ornate apart from
the interesting khachkars embedded in their walls. The ground is rocky
with bright short green grass speckled with very small bright blue
flowers. The green grass extends to the surrounding mountains and the
shallow valley below. The field stones and khachkars in the cemetery
are covered with fluorescent orange-colored lichen. It is one of the
most beautiful, spectacular scenes I've seen in Armenia, or anywhere
else for that matter. One of the villagers, an elderly gentleman,
was seated on a nearby rock watching his flock of sheep. After a
few words of greeting, it was as if we had known each other all our
lives. He was a refugee from Baku.
The old Armenian name for the village was "Karakert", meaning "stone
built". Sometime around the 15th century, Turks settled in the area
renaming the village Dashkert (meaning "stone built" - the same
meaning as its previous Armenian name). Many, if not most, of the
Armenians had left. After the Armenian Genocide some refugees from
western Armenia resettled there, perhaps during the first Armenian
Republic established in 1918. During the first republic and the
subsequent Soviet era, though the village remained within Armenia's
borders, it retained its Turkish name due to the presence of its
Turkish/Azeri inhabitants. As this was still part of Armenia the
Turkish residents, as far as I understand, left the churches and
cemetery undisturbed. Around 1988, during the Karabagh conflict,
the Turks left. Armenian refugees arriving from Azerbaijan used the
abandoned Turkish houses as sources of building material to build
or repair their own homes. The village youth erected the khachkars,
which over the centuries had fallen, placing them on solid cement
bases. The current Armenian government renamed the village Ayrk.
Soorp Astvatsatsin church in Ayrk, 19th century
This is a beautiful site, well worth visiting if one is a bit
adventuresome. It's about a 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive from Yerevan,
depending on the driver and car. The road to Ayrk runs along the south
shore of Lake Sevan, passing the beautiful 9th c Ayrevank monastery
which is right off the highway, and the Noraduz Cemetery with its
spectacular medieval khachkars. The Noraduz cemetery is a 10 minute
diversion from the main highway along Lake Sevan's south coast and
has visitor amenities.
Ayrk could become a tourist attraction providing at least some help
for its economy. This superb and unvisited site should be promoted
and, moreover, protected as a cultural preserve, perhaps under
U.N.E.S.C.O. auspices.
http://asbarez.com/124845/unseen-armenia-%E2%80%93-ayrk/
From: A. Papazian
Thursday, July 10th, 2014 | Posted by Contributor
Soorp Gevorg church in Ayrk, 19th century
BY HOVSEP DAGHDIGIAN
Ayrk, in Gegharkunik Marz, is a village of about 50 households about 30
km south of Vartenis, to the south-east of Lake Sevan. It is reachable
from Vartenis by a bad but passable road.
The origin of the village is unknown but in the cemetery next to
its two small churches, Soorp Grigor and Soorp Astvatsatsin, some
of the khachkars (stone crosses) are dated to the 7-10th centuries,
indicating the village was in existence at that time.
Approaching the village a few roofs over the scattered houses were
visible in the distance, together with some destroyed buildings. We
wondered if there was really anything there and if continuing on would
be worthwhile. An approaching driver assured us that there were two
churches in the village, so we proceeded.
The village is poor, most of its young people leave for work in
Russia. Current villagers are primarily refugees from Azerbaijan,
with a few descendants of survivors of the Armenian Genocide in
western Armenia. The primary economic activity is raising animals,
and farming grain and potatoes. The climate is too cold to grow
fruit. In the valley below Ayrk is a milk processing facility which
processes and delivers the village's milk to market.
A village shepherd in Ayrk
We arrived at the two churches, about 100 yards apart, in mid-afternoon
with bright sun, a cool breeze, and a few beautiful white fluffy clouds
floating overhead. The two churches are small, simple rectangular
buildings, about the size of my kitchen, and are not ornate apart from
the interesting khachkars embedded in their walls. The ground is rocky
with bright short green grass speckled with very small bright blue
flowers. The green grass extends to the surrounding mountains and the
shallow valley below. The field stones and khachkars in the cemetery
are covered with fluorescent orange-colored lichen. It is one of the
most beautiful, spectacular scenes I've seen in Armenia, or anywhere
else for that matter. One of the villagers, an elderly gentleman,
was seated on a nearby rock watching his flock of sheep. After a
few words of greeting, it was as if we had known each other all our
lives. He was a refugee from Baku.
The old Armenian name for the village was "Karakert", meaning "stone
built". Sometime around the 15th century, Turks settled in the area
renaming the village Dashkert (meaning "stone built" - the same
meaning as its previous Armenian name). Many, if not most, of the
Armenians had left. After the Armenian Genocide some refugees from
western Armenia resettled there, perhaps during the first Armenian
Republic established in 1918. During the first republic and the
subsequent Soviet era, though the village remained within Armenia's
borders, it retained its Turkish name due to the presence of its
Turkish/Azeri inhabitants. As this was still part of Armenia the
Turkish residents, as far as I understand, left the churches and
cemetery undisturbed. Around 1988, during the Karabagh conflict,
the Turks left. Armenian refugees arriving from Azerbaijan used the
abandoned Turkish houses as sources of building material to build
or repair their own homes. The village youth erected the khachkars,
which over the centuries had fallen, placing them on solid cement
bases. The current Armenian government renamed the village Ayrk.
Soorp Astvatsatsin church in Ayrk, 19th century
This is a beautiful site, well worth visiting if one is a bit
adventuresome. It's about a 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive from Yerevan,
depending on the driver and car. The road to Ayrk runs along the south
shore of Lake Sevan, passing the beautiful 9th c Ayrevank monastery
which is right off the highway, and the Noraduz Cemetery with its
spectacular medieval khachkars. The Noraduz cemetery is a 10 minute
diversion from the main highway along Lake Sevan's south coast and
has visitor amenities.
Ayrk could become a tourist attraction providing at least some help
for its economy. This superb and unvisited site should be promoted
and, moreover, protected as a cultural preserve, perhaps under
U.N.E.S.C.O. auspices.
http://asbarez.com/124845/unseen-armenia-%E2%80%93-ayrk/
From: A. Papazian