Film info

Creator / Collector

Description
In the film we watch the road towards Gegard Monastery and the crowd at its entrance. The lens stands on the slope of the mountain, watching the outdoor retailers, the people who are dancing to traditional dances and finally the chachkar, monuments of carved crosses that bear medieval motifs, such as rosettes.

Partially carved from top to bottom on the rocks, on a hillside that leans amphitheatrically, at the entrance of the Azat Valley in Kotayk of Armenia is located the medieval Gegard Monastery, also known in ancient times as the Airivank Monastery (Monastery of the caves).

It was founded by Gregory the Illuminator in the early of 4th century and was destroyed according to Armenian historians, in 923 by Nasr, regent of an Arabian Caliphate in Armenia.

The main church called Katoghike was built in 1215 by generals Jacar and Ivan of Queen Tamar, and the first carved church was built in 1250 and the rest of the monastic complex in the mid-13th century.

The monastery was famous for its relics, including the spear with which Christ was pierced and the remains of the apostles Andrew and John, that were donated in the 12th century.

Coordinates

Film Information

Holder
Bonar, Andrew Graham

Quality
2K

Sound
Yes

Color
Yes

Duration (seconds)
140

Format
Super 8mm

Creator's description


And this is Geghard, yet another monastery, apparently leaning against the steep mountainside. In fact much of the church inside, as also the monks’ cells, is hollowed out of the mountain, making this a very unusual monastery. Like Agartsin it dates back some 700 years.
Bonar, Andrew Graham