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Kaymaklı Monastery (Template:Lang-hy, Amenaprgič Vank, meaning Monastery of the All-Saviour; Template:Lang-tr) is a ruined Armenian Apostolic monastery near Trabzon, Turkey.

The monastery originally included a church, a bell tower at the northwest corner, and a small chapel near the southeast corner.

Location, founding and name

The monastery is located on top of Boztepe hill, three kilometres southeast of Trabzon. The site overlooks the Değirmendere Valley , the ancient river Pyxites, along which runs the main trade route into eastern Anatolia and beyond. The exact dates of the monastery's foundation and origin remains unclear. A religious community was present at the site from at least the fifteenth century, and possibly as early as the eleventh. The oldest dated structure, a chapel, was completed in 1424. It was named Ամենափրկիչ Վանք (Amenaprgič Vank) in Armenian, which translates as "Monastery of the Saviour of All". Until 1915 it served as the seat of the Trebizond diocese tied to the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The Ottoman Sultan Murad III is said to have eaten a meal at the monastery consisting only of dairy products. He confirmed the monastery's possession of its lands, and the place came to be called in Turkish Kaymakli, meaning "of clotted cream", in memory of the occasion. Previously it had been called "Yesil Manastir" - the "Green Monastery".

Buildings

The site was a terrace enclosed by a wall 30 x 40m. The wall is now almost completely destroyed. The oldest surviving structure is a small chapel located at the eastern end of the compound. According to an inscription above the door, it was built in 1424 by Hodja Stephanos Shemsedli. The chapel has reused khachkars in its walls. The original complex included a zhamatun, fountain known as the milk fountain, a tower, the mentioned chapel, and an arcaded monastic building.

Main church

The main church is rectangular in form, with three naves and three apses. The main apse is pentagonal. The founding date for the church is not clear, but is believed to have been built on a surviving parts of a 12-13th century Greek church on the site. The original roof of this structure was destroyed and at some point a replacement roof was installed, but it is unclear whether the church is currently sheltered. There was also a narthex or zhamatun at the western end of the church, but this is no longer intact.

The inside of the church is decorated with elaborate frescoes showing various biblical scenes. They are believed to have been painted in the 17-18th centuries. On the west wall is a large fresco on three sections depicting the Last Judgment.

North-west of the church are the remains of a bell tower, once an extremely tall structure.

South of the church are the remains of a 2-story monastic building that had a portico with stone columns on the lower floor.

Modern times

The monastery operated normally until 1915, when most of the Armenian population of Trabzon(Trebizond) was wiped out as part of the Armenian Genocide. Armenian churches and convents were pillaged, desecrated and destroyed. In 1915 the monastery was used as a transit camp for Armenians being deported to Syria during the Armenian Genocide. After the Russian capture of Trebizond Armenian monks returned to the monastery, and monks were there until sometime after the First World War.

A fire may have partially ruined the site at a later date. By the 1950s the main church was roofless and most of the bell-tower was destroyed. A farm now utilizes the remaining buildings of the Kaymaklı monastery.

References

• Sinclair, T.A. (1987-90). Eastern Turkey: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey. Pindar Press
• Kévorkian,Raymond.(1992) Les Arméniens. p. 187, nos. 305-6. Paris
• Anthony Bryer and David Winfield, The Byzantine Monument and Topography of the Pontos, Washington, Dumbarton Oaks, 1985, 2 vols, pp. 208-211, figs. 45-6, plates 154-160

References

1. map of Trabzon
2. Kaymaklı Monastery info at www.trabzon.gov.tr
3. Koker, Osman (2005). Armenians in Turkey 100 Years Ago. - page 180
4. ^ Bryer, Anthony (1985-03). Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos (Dumbarton Oaks Studies,20) Two Volume Set. Dumbarton Oaks Pub Service. ISBN 088402122X. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) - pages 208-211
5. Pictures of Turkey by Dick Osseman
6. Pictures of Turkey by Dick Osseman
7. "800,000 Armenians Counted Destroyed". The New York Times. 1915-10-7. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |access= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help) - "Viscount Bryce Tells House of Lords That Is the Probable Number of Turks' Victims. 10,000 Drowned at Once; Peers Are Told How Entire Christian Population of Trebizond Was Wiped Out."
8. Pascal, Julia (2001-01-27). "A People Killed Twice". The Guardian (London). - "Death came in various ways. In Trebizond, local Armenians were pushed on to boats then thrown overboard. Others were hurled off the edge of a gorge. Before 1914, more than two million Armenians lived in Turkey. After the genocide, only 500,000 remained, destined to become refugees in what was to become known as the Armenian diaspora."
9. Photiades, Kostas (1987), The Annihilation of the Greeks in Pontos, University of Tübingen, Germany.
10. Bryce, V.(1916) The Treatement of Armenians on the Ottoman Empire. London: Couston & Sons Ltd.
11. Anatolian Studies, volume 10, page 169.

See also

• Kuştul Monastery
• Hagia Sophia cathedral of Trabzon
• Sümela Monastery
• Armenian Genocide
• Pontic Greek Genocide

External links

• Kaymaklı Monastery at Virtual Ani.
• Kaymaklı Monastery at karalahana.com

Photos

Photos of Kaymaklı Monastery by Dick Osseman

40°59′42″N 39°44′34.08″E / 40.99500°N 39.7428000°E / 40.99500; 39.7428000

• Monasteries in Turkey
• History of Armenia
• Armenian Apostolic Churches