Tsarakar Monastery is located in the Kaghzvan district of Kars province in modern Turkey, 1.2 km west of the Kurdish village Chukurayva, at an altitude of 1949 m above sea level. The appearance of the monastery resembles a stone tree, hence its name – Tsarakar (“tree-like stone”).
Despite its unique structure, the monastery did not attract the attention of specialists until recent years. Only in 1999 did the Scottish explorer Steven Sim visit the site, photographing and sketching the monastery. Then the Japanese seismologist Shiro Sasano visited the monastery, and in 2009 he published a small study based on the results of his visit.
Tsarakar Monastery
Thus, two foreign researchers “discovered” and presented to the scientific world a new cave monastery, the historical name of which has not been found out. Therefore, it was named after a neighboring Kurdish village.
Then, in 2008-2010, within the framework of the scientific expedition of the organization “Research on Armenian Architecture”, it turned out that the monastery discovered by foreign researchers was the Tsarakar Monastery, as evidenced by lithographic inscriptions on the walls of the monastery.
Tsarakar Monastery was one of the most important monastic complexes in Medieval Armenia. However, over time it lost its significance and was forgotten.
Tsarakar Monastery
At the end of the 19th century, Ghevond Alishan was able to indicate the approximate location of the monastery based on the information collected from sources. Then S. Yeprikyan came to the same conclusion that the monastery is located in the Gabeghenk district of the Ayrarat province of Greater Armenia, not far from the city of Kechror.
As a result of these and many other scientific studies, it became clear that the “recently discovered” cave monastery is the same Tsarakar Monastery.
Photos by Sipan Grig, Gevorg Haroyan, Hrachuhi Ayvazyan, Tigran Varag
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