1.
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/michaelasanda-2511550-armenia31/

2.
Akhtala is a 10th-century fortified Georgian Orthodox
Church monastery located in the town of Akhtala in
the marz of Lori, 185 kilometers (115 mi) north
of Yerevan. The fortress played a major role in protecting
the north-western regions of Armenia (Gugark) and is
among the most well preserved of all in modern Armenia.
The main church at the compound is famous for its highly
artistic frescoes, which cover the inside walls, the partitions,
and the bearings of the building. The original Armenian
name of the settlement where the monastery is built is
Pghindzahank, which means copper mine

3.
Wedding rings statue. Pater Vigen said, if couples go through they will leave
all the bad things (the snake and scorpion) behind and are facing a good

4.
According to some
local lore, the church
was built in the 7th
century by Byzantine
emperor of Armenian
extraction, Heraclius.

5.
Another legend
assumes that the
church was built in
the 5th century by
Georgian King
Vakhtang I
Gorgasali.

6.
There is no
reasonable
evidence to
support either
story. Modern
researchers date
the murals within
the church to
1205–1216

7.
From the late 18th
century to the
present the
monastery has
served ethnic Greeks
who settled in
Akhtala to work in the
nearby gold and
silver mines

8.
Akhtala remains
one of Armenia's
best intact
examples of its
great fresco period

9.
Several monasteries in northern Armenia were converted to Chalcedonian
or Greek (Byzantine) Orthodoxy, a prominent example being Akhtala.

10.
About 800 Greek families were moved from Gümüşhane in the
Ottoman Empire to Akhtala in 1763 by the Georgian King Herekleh II.

11.
The Greeks called the monastery
"Meramani" and Greek miners have left
inscriptions on the monastery walls. In the
19th century Akhtala was taken over by
the Armenian princely family of Melikovs.

12.
Compared to all other Armenian monasteries it distinguishes from its
precious and unique frescos which are very well preserved and in
original condition

13.
Pghndzavank
was the religious
center for
Chalcedonian
Armenians as
well as an
Armenian-
Georgian center
for learning

14.
The majority of
the murals bare
scriptures in
Greek

15.
The murals are one of the best representations of Byzantine art outside the traditional
borders of Byzantium

16.
The murals were painted
under the patronage
of atabek Ivane Zakarian
between 1205 and 1216

17.
The coloring of the murals
is characteristic of typical
Byzantine art while the
thematic solutions are more
Armenian

18.
Some of the murals were renovated in 1979

19.
The Akhtala fortress
with its temple
complex is situated in
Akhtala village of
Tumanyan region in a
high valley.

20.
The fortress’ territory is
surrounded with rocky
deep canyons from three
sides, and the north side
joins the plain

21.
Pghndzahank became the property of Ivaneh Zakarian in the 1180s. While
Ivaneh's brother Zakareh remained faithful to the Armenian Apostolic Church,
Ivaneh had accepted the Byzantine (or Chalcedonian) Orthodoxy in the
Georgian Court (which had adopted it in the 7th century).

22.
The prominent Armenian
filmmaker of the 20th
century Sergei
Parajanov filmed two
episodes of his film The
Color of Pomegranates at
the monastery

23.
Besides the natural
advantages, the fortress
was protected by tall
pyramid gates mutually
connected with the
picturesque environs which
are preserved to this day

24.
Sound: Lusine Zakaryan -Vocalise by Arno Babajanyan
Text & pictures: Internet
Copyright: All the images belong to their authors
Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanu
www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda