The Church of the Holy Cross at Soradir is a 6th-century Armenian monastic complex in south-eastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It is situated in the village of Yanal near the town and district of

Başkale Başkale ( ku, Elbak, hy, Ադամակերտ, translit=Adamakert) is a town and district located in south-eastern Turkey in Van Province. There is one municipality in the Başkale district, the town centre, which was established in 1937. The ne ...

Van Province Van Province ( tr, Van ili, ku, Parezgêha Wanê, Armenian: Վանի մարզ) is a province in the Eastern Anatolian region of Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. It is 19,069 km2 in area and had a population of 1,035,418 a ...

History

The ''Monastery of the Holy Cross at Soradir or Dzoradir'' ( hy, ՁՈՐԱԴԻՐԻ Սբ. ԷՋՄԻԱԾԻՆ վանք) was built in the 6th century by the apprentice of the architect of the Saint Bartholomew Monastery; the site corresponds to a settlement in the Metz Aghbak district of

Vaspurakan Vaspurakan (, Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Vasbouragan'') was the eighth province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered on Lake Van. Located in what is now southeaster ...

province of historical Armenia. According to Armenian inscriptions found inside the main church, in 582 with the sponsorship of Saro Mahtesi the church's dome and western threshold were reconstructed. In the 10th century, the Armenian king Gurgen III Artzruni entrusted the architect Manuel to build the Saint Cross of Akhtamar monastery copying the design of the Dzoradir monastery. It was a functioning Armenian monastery until the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

in 1915.

Current condition

After the Armenian genocide, the monastery has sat in an abandoned state, and only one graffitied and derelict church building remains extant.

References

{{Reflist Armenian Apostolic churches in Turkey Christian monasteries established in the 6th century Former churches in Turkey Former religious buildings and structures in Turkey Buildings and structures in Van Province Vaspurakan Demolished buildings and structures in Turkey Destroyed churches in Turkey Churches destroyed by Muslims Armenian buildings in Turkey