Değirmenaltı () is a village in
Bitlis District
Bitlis District (also: ''Merkez'', meaning "central") is a district of Bitlis Province of Turkey. Its seat is the city Bitlis.[Bitlis Province
Bitlis Province (; ; ) is a province of eastern Turkey, located to the west of Lake Van. It takes its name from the central city, Bitlis. Its area is 8,294 km2, and its population is 353,988 (2022). The province is considered part of Western ...]
,
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. Its population is 1,137 (2021).
The village still contains the ruins of the church of St Anania as well as many
khatchkars
A ''khachkar'' (also spelled as ''khatchkar'') or Armenian cross-stone (, , խաչ ''xačʿ'' "cross" + քար ''kʿar'' "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, interlaces, and ...
; carved memorial stones.
The village is populated by
Kurds
Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
.
Armenian monument remains
The village is notable for the good condition of its many Armenian
khachkar
A ''khachkar'' (also spelled as ''khatchkar'') or Armenian cross-stone (, , խաչ ''xačʿ'' "cross" + քար ''kʿar'' "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosette (design), rosettes ...
stones, which have been remarked on by ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
'', and appeared in the Armenian Genocide documentary ''
100 Years Later
''100 Years Later'' is a 2016 British documentary film directed, written, and produced by John Lubbock. The film follows the work of historian Ara Sarafian, executive director of the Gomidas Institute in London, in his efforts to create dialog ...
''. They have been described as "the most important collection of Armenian khatchkars now surviving in Turkey." The khachkars stand next to the former Church of St. Anania, which dates from the 6th or 7th century and at the time of publication of historian Thomas Sinclair's architectural survey of Turkey (1987) was used by the population of the village as a barn.
Half a mile east of the village are the remains of the Armenian Monastery of St. John. This monastery is on private property and has suffered extensive damage by treasure hunters inspired by stories of buried gold.
The St. Anania Monastery is a rectangular building containing a single-
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
church with a
ribbed
''Ribbed'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX, released in 1991 through Epitaph Records. It was their last album to feature Steve Kidwiler on guitar; he was replaced by El Hefe. ''Ribbed'' is also the last NOFX album ...
stone ceiling and a round
apse
In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...
. A khachkar dated to 1456 stood inside, near the entrance, at least until the 1980s.
A
zhamatun
A ''gavit'' (; gawit’) or ''zhamatun'' (Armenian: ) is a congressional room or mausoleum added to the entrance of a church, and therefore often contiguous to its west side, in a Medieval Armenian monastery. It served as narthex (entrance to the ...
(outer room or assembly area of a monastery) was attached to the west side of the church and is contiguous with it, being accessible through a former door in the west wall of the church. It consisted of a square room containing one row of arches running north to south. The zhamatun was most likely added in the mid-15th century when some of the monks from the St John Monastery seem to have moved down into the village and occupied this monastery. An inscription on its wall seems to indicate the year 1466, which may mark the date when it was completed. The monks moved back to the St John Monastery in the 1520s or 1530s, at which point the zhamatun may have been sealed up.
Three rows of khachkars are found outside the south wall of the monastery (or once were). One row starts near the church door and most likely dates from 1513, which is the date indicated on the first stone. Another row, more badly damaged, starts near the junction of the church and zhamatun. A third row, which starts near the outer door of the zhamatun, contains a mix of broken and well-preserved stones that likely all date from 1496.
The St John Monastery to the east consists of a small single-nave church or chapel, dating at least in part from the 6th or 7th century, and an attached zhamatun, probably from the 16th century.
The zhamatun here is a square chamber with one row of two arches. It is located on the west side of the church but its layout and position makes it project southward from the rest of the building. A single door inside connects both sections.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Değirmenaltı, Turkey
Armenian buildings in Turkey
Former Armenian communities in Bitlis Province
Villages in Bitlis District
Kurdish settlements in Bitlis Province