RAA NEWSLETTER

R e s e a r c h on A r m e n I a n A r c h I t e c t u r e, U S A
RAA/USA 9632 Saluda Avenue, Tujunga, CA 91042 USA Tel: (818) 469-1186 Fax: (818) 688-3827 http://RAA-USA.org http://RAA-AM.org http://ArmenianArchitecture.us Email: Board@RAA-USA.org

December 2012 Issue Some Highlights of RAA USA in 2012 Garden Party organized by RAA / USA On June 30, 2012 RAA Board members organized a fund raising event at the residence of Mr. Simon Guevrekian. About 100 RAA Guardians and friends were present. Mr. Guevrekian had prepared very interesting and unique games, which were played in the garden, and added lots of fun and amusement among the guests of the event. The BBQ type food was also very delicious. During this event RAA presented its Cultural Genocide exposition, which was welcomed by the participants with a great interest. During that event the recent publications of RAA Armenia were also presented to the guests. The participants were very pleased with the friendly atmosphere and warm hosting of Mr. Guevrekian who provided the premises on a volunteer basis to support this event. The program left a net profit of $2300, which mostly consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Seredians generous donation, as well as other donations and book sales.

Some Highlights of RAA Armenia Foundations Main Activities in 2012 Questionnaires of Monuments In accordance with an agreement signed with the RA Ministry of Culture, during the year, the researchers of the Foundation prepared survey documents for 480 monuments located in Moks, Shatakh and Khoshab Districts of Western Armenia, which became the basis for 6 volumes within the Series of Armenian Monuments Questionnaires. The completed documentation of the Armenian monuments preserved in Gyavash, VanTosp, Moks, Shatakh and Khoshab Districts of Western Armenia, which started in 2010, have been handed to the Ministry of Culture in December 2012. Research Trips In May and June, as a continuation of the first one-month trip to Iran made in 2010, the members of RAA carried out field work of the same duration in the Armenian settlements of Iran. Within the program of SOS-Culture, a number of research trips were made to Shirak, Lori and Tavush Regions, RA. The details of these trips have been described in this newsletter in detail. In September a two-week scientific expedition was made to North Caucasia (North Ossetia, Stavropol and Daghestan). In October scientific studies were implemented in Keghi and Balu Districts of Western Armenia. Although the trip was scheduled for a full 4 week, due to weather problems the group returned back in 2 weeks. Overall the results were satisfactory and the group had returned with several thousands new images and documented several hundred monuments in the visited regions. During the year, the members of RAA also made several field trips to Artsakh and Georgia. Summary of Publications Ani - 1050, a large-scale work published with the financial assistance of the RA Ministries of the Diaspora and Culture; Three Monasteries of Artaz by Dr. A. Hakhnazarian, the 15th volume of RAA Scientific Research Series (published under the patronage of Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation); The 5th, 6th and 7th issues of the Vardzk periodical (with the means kept in reserve from the budget transferred by the Ministry of Culture); Sourb Nshan Sourb Nikoghayosi Church, the first volume of the newly-founded trilingual series of Documents of Armenian Architecture (sponsors: Mr. and Mrs. Arthur and Lily Seredian, RAA-USA); Nakhijevan. Atlas, in Armenian & English Seredian, RAA-USA); (sponsors: Mr. and Mrs. Arthur and Lily

Printing-Houses in the Armenian Homeland, a large-scale map dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the first Armenian printed book (published with the means kept in reserve);

A calendar for 2013 dedicated to Artaz District of Historical Armenia (published with the means kept in reserve). Note: In this issue you can become familiar with the details of Three Monasteries of Artaz Sourb Nshan Sourb Nikoghayosi Church and Nakhijevan. Atlas publications Documentary Films Four documentaries films were produced during 2012: Ani, Hovvi Church, A Day in Kakhetia and Moks Recently RAA has made these films, as well as 5 other films produced in the previous years, available online at: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAums0kAST2LBKUgJrN9uDw . Exhibitions Between 22 and 27 February, the Green Hall of the RA National Assembly hosted the RAA exhibition dedicated to the Armenian monuments in Turkey and Azerbaijan. On 2 March, the Foundation presented the fruits of its 2011 activities and its plans for 2012 at the ART-EXPO Exhibition, which was visited by Serzh Sargissian, President of the Republic of Armenia. On 30 March, the publications of RAA were shown at the exhibition held in Home Depot Trade Centre, Yerevan. Digital Reconstruction of Monuments (A Three-Dimensional Modeling) The 3D digital reconstructions of a number of architectural/endangered monuments have been prepared. Some of them were published in Ani-1050 book, and the details of digitally reconstructed Hovvi Church included in the related documentary film. You can view this film in the following link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJpWAUzlHQI The 3D modelling of Anis Gagkashen Church is in process: it will be presented in the film of Gagkashen Church, the production of which is planned for early 2013.

Trip to Byurakan and Artashavan On October 4, 2012, the members of RAA Foundation were in Byurakan Village, Aragatzotn Region, Armenia, together with Jora Manoucherian, the President of RAA/USA, Margrit Hakhnazarian and Ruben Ghalichian. They visited St. Hovhannes and Artavazik Churches of the village as well as the cemetery of Artashavan, where the Founding Director of RAA, the late Armen Hakhnazarian, reposes in a very beautiful nook of nature.

Sourb Nshan Sourb Nikoghayosi

In October, 2012, RAA Foundation published a trilingual (in Armenian, Russian & English) booklet, which presents an overall and unbiassed history of Sourb Nshan standing in the heart of Tbilisi. The Georgian side expresses doubts about the belonging of the church to the Armenians and its foundation by them; moreover, they have put forward the hypothesis that the Armenians built it over the foundations of a Georgian Orthodox one, thus appropriating the old Georgian monument. The author of the booklet, Samvel Karapetian, hopes that it will shed new light on this long-disputed question and finally give an exhaustive answer to it.

Nakhijevan Atlas In October, 2012, RAA Foundation also published a bilingual (in Armenian & English) atlas of Nakhijevan: besides maps, it also presents a short history of this historical Armenian region and comprises lists of its Christian and Islamic monuments. On March 16, 1921, without the participation of the Armenian side, Turkey and Russia signed an illegal agreement under which Nakhijevan was put under the protection of Azerbaijan. The local Armenian population was repeatedly subjected to pressure and massacres until they were finally deported between 1988 and 1989. Since the mid-1990s, the Armenian historical monuments situated in the territory of Azerbaijanincluding those in the Autonomous Republic of Nakhijevan, which is under its protectionhave become targets of a flagrant anti-Armenian policy exercised at state level. The bigoted intolerance and discrimination manifested against them are getting more and more bitter with every single passing day, as a result of which, they are endlessly subjected to premeditated destruction.

Research Trip to Daghestan, North Caucasia Between September 8 and 19, 2012, the research team of RAA was in Daghestan, North Caucasia, for research into the surviving Armenian monuments of the region. They particularly worked in Makhachkala, Derbent and Ghezlar, also visiting the cemeteries and monasteries of several Armenian villages. The Armenian heritage preserved in the territory of Daghestan may be classified into three groups: churches and monasteries, houses and tombstones. The city of Ghezlar retains three Armenian churches and two monasteries, as well as remarkable buildings erected by Armenians between the 19th and 20th centuries which are very similar to the old edifices preserved in Abovian Street, Yerevan, RA. Sts. Poghos-Petros (Sts. Peter & Paul) Church of Makhachkala, which traces back to the mid19th century, has turned into a shop. One of the mosques of Derbent used to be an Armenian church formerly. The city retains Sourb Amenaprkich (Holy Saviour) Church, which is a domed building with a belfry in front of its entrance. There are a lot of Armenian houses in the city, but regretfully, they are no longer inhabited by Armenians. The formerly Armenian-populated village of Molla Khalil preserves a church built in the site of the grave of St. Grigoris, St. Gregory the Enlighteners grandson. The local Armenian graveyard preserves only 2 tombstones. The Armenian cemetery of Bilij retains only a single gravestone, whereas Rostom Bek Yerznkiants, who visited the place in 1857, counted 40 inscribed cross-stones there. RAA Foundation continues research into the remnants of the Armenian heritage of Daghestan and will soon present its results to the public at large.
The Armenian church of Molla-Khallil

Tombstones heaped together in the cemetery of Ghezlar, Daghestan

Sourb Amenaprkich Church of Derbend

Sourb Amenaprkich Church of Derbend

A Few Pages from RAAs Activities Diary in 2012 As it was presented in our previous newsletter RAA has become one of the co-partners of the Armenian Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) in the implementation of the SOS Program Aimed at the Preservation of Endangered Cultural Assets in the Remote Regions of Armenia and Georgia (the program is to be completed in 2013).

Berdavan, Tavush Region. S. Karapetian delivering a talk on Armenian monuments for the local pupils

This summer the members of RAA continued their work within the project and carried out studies in Tavush and Lori Regions, Republic of Armenia. Below follows a brief account of their activity as described in their diary: 6:30 a.m., June 26. Samvel takes photographs of the monastery of Varagavank, after which the team is joined by the pupils of Varagavan and their teacher Sargis Grigorian. Samvel gives a short lecture on the history of the monastery, guided by the strong conviction that you get more attached to your land and its heritage when you have enough knowledge about them. The RAA mission of disseminating knowledge on the Armenian Homeland and different issues of its history continues at the school of Varagavan with the show of two documentaries produced by the Film Department of the Foundation: Mr. Petros of Varag and Cultural Genocide. The prolific working day comes to an end at Kaptavank, another monastery which is photographed and measured. June 27. The team visits Shekhmurat Monastery, which stands outside the village of Tzaghkavan. As usual, Samvel and his team harness themselves to fieldwork (photographing, measuring, specification of geographical coordinates): the harvest turns out quite rich including a number of important inscriptions and photographs of several crossstones.

On the same day, the members of RAA and the pupils of Varagavan visit the village site of Hakhum, which preserves a three-apse church (it is photographed and measured). Some work is also carried out in the cemetery of the village site, the pupils being witness to, and sometimes participating in, this work. The team of RAA says good-bye to the pupils and starts for the monastery of Morodzor in Tzerviz (Lusahovit) Village, Ijevan District.

Morodzoro Monastery

The rainy weather forces the group temporarily cease working and return to Yerevan. Research in the region of Tavush continues from July 13 until 16. This time the first destination is the village of Berdavan, where a meeting is held with the local pupils and their teacher of geography, Zhora Niazian. S. Karapetian delivers a talk on Armenian monuments, after which the children watch the documentaries Mr. Petros of Varag and Khnus. Later the group visits a village site with a cemetery of numerous ornate crossstones which retains a chapel, a standing winged cross and a semi-ruined uni-nave church. Work is also carried out in the fortress of Berdavan, which preserves its secret water tunnel.

S. Karapetian and the pupils of Berdavan with their teacher at Ghalenjakar Castle not far from Berdavan

At the church village of Ghalacha near Berdavan

9 a.m., July 14. Another short lecture is delivered at the spring of Sirush running on the way to St. Sargis Monastery of Dovegh. Architect Ashot Hakobian measures the monastic church with the students active help.

Hnevank, Lori

St. Sargis Monastery of Dovegh in the territory of Berdavan. S. Karapetian measuring the monastic church with the students help

Fieldwork is then carried out in Meshkavank, located near the village of Koghb, and the village site of Upper Voskepar: here a watch tower and a single-span bridge are photographed. 14:25 p.m. The group reaches the Armenian Chalcedonian church of Sevshen (Gharakyand) Village Site, which is measured and photographed. July 18. The research program of RAA continues in Lori Region. The group works in a church located at the edge of the village of Jiliza (it was exploded in the 1930s, and only its southern vestry is preserved standing) and in the village site of Karmragegh preserved in a forest in the vicinity of Jiliza. It retains a semi-destroyed church and a graveyard north of it, on the opposite side of the gorge. July 19. A lecture is given for the students of the Crafts School of Alaverdi Town, accompanied with the show of the documentaries Mr. Petros of Varag and Khnus. After the lecture, the members of RAA take the pupils to Sanahin Monastery, where Samvel gives them some information on its history. They even read several inscriptions together.

Sanahin Monastery, Lori. Samvel telling the pupils about the monastery

July 26. Studies in Lori are resumed, and the monastery of Sedvi is partially measured and photographed. The members of RAA and their Georgian colleagues visit and measure a 7th-century church in Kurtan Village. Vardablur is the next village where architectural studies are carried out. It has three churches two of which are ruined, and only one functions. 16:10 p.m. The team reaches the fortress of Lore, which they photograph almost throughout an hour. 18:50 p.m. The group is in Lernantsk Village, which has a 19th-century church with a cemetery. July 27. Architect Ashot Hakobian measures the monastery of Upper Horomayr early in the morning. 11:40 a.m. The Armenians and Georgians are already in the church of St. Gregory the Enlightener, Dsegh, after which they continue their work in Karasnits Monastery. 14:35 until 17:15 p.m. The researchers of both nations conduct studies in St. Grigor Monastery of Bardzrakash near Dsegh Village. 18:05. A visit to the cemetery of Dsegh, which is rich in cross-stones and retains a ruined uni-nave church. July 28. Samvel and Ashot complete the measurement of t he monastery of Sedvi, after which they photograph and measure a watch tower located not far from it. 12:45 until 13:45 p.m. The group is again in the region of Tavush, to be more exact, in Sourb Astvatzatzin Church (1675) in Ajarkut Village, Ijevan District. 14:15 p.m. Samvel and Anush Hambardzumian visit Kirants Monastery of Ajarkut together with the Georgian researchers. This being the last day of the expedition, the members of RAA returned to Yerevan to resume office work.

Georgia Trip
The readers of our newsletter already know that in 2011 the European Community, represented by the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, awarded a grant to the Armenian Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) for the implementation of the SOS Program, and RAA has been selected by the latter for the fulfillment of work on behalf of the Armenian side. The program is aimed at the preservation of endangered cultural assets in the remote regions of Armenia and Georgia with the involvement of the local youth. Within this project, the members of RAA made 3 research trips to Georgia in April, May and July 2012. Indeed, it is impossible to present a detailed account of all these expeditions within just an article, but we shall dwell on some of the most important destinations of the work of RAA.
The Georgian church erected in the site of Khojivank Cemetery

Regretful as it is, many of these destinations are destroyed or Georgianised Armenian churches and monasteries as the Armenian historical heritage of Georgia is continually threatened with annihilation or appropriation. What is especially noteworthy, all these acts are carried out at state level.

Khojivank Cemetery

In April the research team of the Foundation worked in a number of Armenian monuments in the capital of Georgia (Echmiatznetsots St. Gevorg Church in Havlabar; Shamkoretsots Sourb Astvatzatzin Church standing in the centre of the same quarter; Dzorabashi St. Gevorg Church situated at the edge of a gorge lying on the bank of the Kur at the southern extremity of Havlabar; Sourb Nshan (Holy Sign) Church in Sololak, etc.) and in some districts such as Marneul, Gardaban, Metskhet, etc. Work was also carried out in Ananur Village, Dushet District, Kartli, where the remnants of an exploded Armenian church were measured.
The Georgianised Sourb Astvatzatzin Church of Nasomkhar

The research team of RAA worked in the graveyard of Dushet City, which retains the chapel of St. Gevorg.

Ever searching for remnants of Armenian cultural heritage, the members of RAA also went to see the foundations of the once standing church of Sourb Astvatzatzin in Dushet City. The next destination of the team was the church of St. Gregory the Enlightener in Mukhran Village, Metskhet District. They also visited the graveyard of Mukhran, where the church of St. Gevorg stands. Among the most important sites visited was the Pantheon of Khojivank (the cemetery of the same name was levelled to the ground in the 1930s, with the human remains scattered in all directions). In the 1990s the site of the graveyard was used for the construction of the Georgian church of Sameba ( Holy Trinity). The Pantheon retains the tombstones of prominent Armenian writers Raffi, Hovhannes Tumanian and Gabriel Sundukian. One of the Armenian sanctuaries appropriated by the Georgians is St. Gevorg Monastery standing about 300 metres north-west of Telet Village, Gardaban District. Other Armenian monuments of the district which shared this fate are Sourb Astvatzatzin (Holy Virgin) Church located within about 200 metres of St. Gevorg Monastery; St. Sargis Church of Tzavkis Village (it was erected with A. Ma ntashians sponsorship) and Tziranavor Sourb Astvatzatzin in Shindis Village (its trilingual /Armenian, Russian & Georgian) construction inscription has been destroyed). Inside the church, the tombstones with Armenian epitaphs were hidden under carpets, but the team succeeded in taking photos of them. The members of RAA also visited Sourb Yerrordutiun (Holy Trinity) Church in the Armenian cemetery of Telav City, the city site of Grem in Kakhetia and the village site of Nasomkhar lying in a gorge south of the city of Seghnakh. It is interesting to note that Nasomkhar is translated from Georgian as meaning A Place where Armenians lived. The local church of Sourb Astvatzatzin was renovated and Georgianised in 2010. The two Georgian clergymen serving there presented a falsified history of the monument abounding in lies regarding its appropriation and the destruction of its cemetery. It turned out that its surviving gravestones serve as supporting stones for the small dwelling of these clergymen (they were photographed in situ as early as the 1980s).
A tombstone from the cemetery of Sourb Astvatzatzin Church of Nasomkhar serving as a support for the small dwelling of the Georgian clergymen

During the fieldwork carried out in July, the members of RAA also organized an open-air film watching in Damia Village, Marneul District, with the show of the RAA documentaries Mr. Petros of Varag, Khnus and Jugha. These films pursue the aim of providing the local villagers, and particularly, schoolchildren with knowledge on issues regarding Armenian history. As usual, the team of RAA returned from Georgia with a rich harvest which is still to be studied and documented properly.

Vardzk No. 7 Quarterly Periodicals Vardzk No. 7, The 7th issue of the Vardzk periodical (A4 format, 64 pages, in coloured print), published for the period between July and September, dwells on issues of history, archaeology and architecture that have not been ever raised so far or have been touched on only superficially. The articles comprising the issue are: The Excavations in Dad Monastery in 2008; Newly-Found Records on the Foundation and Construction of Khatravank; A NewlyFound Cross-Stone (910) Fragment from Khotakerats Monastery; The Second Massacre of Agulis; Forgotten Khne; Mren and Its Monuments. The articles are illustrated with a great number of photographs, measurements and maps. Vardzk No. 7 has been prepared and published with the financial assistance of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia.

THREE MONASTERIES OF ARTAZ This work dwells on three Armenian monasteries situated in Atropatene Province, Persia: Thaddeus the Apostle, Tzortzor and St. Stephen the ProtoDeacon. This province, which is the historical Armenian district of Artaz, used to have a great number of Armenian-inhabited villages, churches, cemeteries, castles and bridges which have not been studied properly yet. The author of the book, Armen Hakhnazarian, dedicated it to his father Hovhannes Hakhnazarian's ever living memory.

RAA Foundations Board of Trustees First Meeting First official meeting of the Board of Trustees of the newly established RAA Foundation (Armenia) was held on Wednesday, October 3, 2012 at 4pm at the RAA offices. The majority of the board members were present in the meeting (except Mr. Marco Brambilla and Mr. Moushegh Lalayan). Mr. Lalayan has given his proxy to Jora Manoucherian for voting on any decisions to be made in the meeting. Having a quorum the Board proceeded with the Agenda, which resulted to the following main decisions: 1- The plans and budget for 2013 were presented and approved by the Board. 2- The need of a new property for offices was discussed and different options have been proposed. Mr. Narek Sargsyan and Mr. Artashes Kakoyan volunteered to explore different options for obtaining a property for the use of RAA offices. 3- The officers of the Board of Trustees have been elected/assigned as follow: Jora Manoucherian (Chairman) Roubik Galichian (Vice-Chairman) Artashes Kakoyan (Secretary) Margrit Hakhnazarian Narek Sargsyan Moushegh Lalayan Marco Brambilla