Treasure Hunters Damage Armenian Hogvats Monastery in Turkey, On Verge of Destruction

In Turkey, between the districts of Van’s Gürpınar (Armenian Gorge) and Çatak, the historical Armenian Hogvats (Hokeats, Hogotz) Monastery located on the banks of the Araks River has been devastated by treasure hunters and is now on the verge of destruction. This was reported by ermenihaber.am.

Ali Kalçık, one of the leaders of the Van ÇEVDER organization for the protection of historical monuments, stated that treasure hunters have removed all the stones from the monastery. “This is barbarism,” Kalçık emphasized, noting that it is now almost impossible to enter the site, which has been used as a barn for many years due to the presence of manure there. He pointed out that dozens of similar historical sites have been destroyed in Turkey. He stressed that people, states, and civil organizations must ultimately break the silence and say no to this destruction, to the annihilation of world heritage.

Fazıl Öztekín, who has visited the monastery periodically for 20 years, noted that it was initially standing but is now on the brink of extinction. “When I first came to the monastery, it was completely intact. The decorations from the bell tower to the walls were preserved as they had been,” he emphasized.

It is noteworthy that the Hogvats Monastery was located in the Anzavatsi region of the Vaspurakan province in Great Armenia, south of Lake Van, near the village of Kasrik. According to a legend attributed to Movses Khorenatsi, the Apostle Bartholomew brought an icon of the Virgin Mary to Great Armenia, destroyed it in the village of Kangavar, and built the Church of St. Mary on the site where the temple of Anahita was located. After Christianity was declared the state religion, Gregory the Illuminator built the Church of St. Zion in the Hogvats monastery, where, according to tradition, the remains of King Tiridates the Great, Queen Ashkhen, and the sister of Khosrovidukht are buried. In the 4th century, the Hogvats Monastery served as an episcopal center. In the 17th century, it became a notable center of manuscript production. It was reconstructed between 1730-65, destroyed in 1895, renovated in 1904, and abandoned in 1915.