Kozluca, Kars

Kozluca
Kozluca
Village
	Kozluca Location in Turkey
	Coordinates: 40°30′46″N 43°29′09″E / 40.51278°N 43.48583°E
Country	Turkey
Province	Kars
District	Kars
Elevation	1,788 m (5,866 ft)
Population (2023)	102
Time zone	UTC+3 (TRT)
Postal code	36000
Area code	0474

Kozluca (Armenian: Ղոզլուջա) is a village in the Kars District of Kars Province, Turkey.^[1] Its population is 102 (2023).^[2]

The village houses the remains of the Armenian Bagnayr Monastery, built in the 10th century CE. The name "Bagnayr" means "cave of fire altars", suggesting the much earlier presence of a

Zoroastrian sanctuary on the site.^[3]

Bagnayr monastery

According to Armenian sources Vahram Pahlavouni founded the monastery in the year 989. It was probably abandoned at the end of the 13th century.^[3] Currently, only one of the original buildings of the complex, the Küçük Kozluca Church, remains partially preserved. This six-foil domed church has lost all of the coverings, and almost all of the exterior stone blocks have been scavenged, but the structure remains intact.^[4]

Two walls and an arch vaulted door remain, but the annular vault of the door is ruined. At the internal section of the remaining walls, 5 arches and 5 dummy columns are interconnected and epitaphs are placed in between the columns. The middle dome and north wall of the church are collapsed and only 2 columns have remained. The top of the remaining south walls is decorated with geometrical designs in carving technique.^[5]

Küçük Kozluca Church
Petroglyph with Zoroastrian symbols

References

^ "Türkiye Mülki İdare Bölümleri Envanteri". T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı (in Turkish). Retrieved 19 December 2022.
^ "Address Based Population Registration System Results". Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (in Turkish). Retrieved 15 February 2023.
^ ^a ^b "The Monastery of Bagnayr". Retrieved 13 March 2024.
^ "The situation of Christian architectural heritage in Turkey". Retrieved 13 March 2024.
^ Jean Michel Thierry, A Propos de quelques monuments chrétiens du Vilayet de Kars, Revue des Études Arméniennes XVII (1983), pp. 329-394.

[:1-1] "Türkiye Mülki İdare Bölümleri Envanteri". T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı (in Turkish). Retrieved 19 December 2022.

[:0-2] "Address Based Population Registration System Results". Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (in Turkish). Retrieved 15 February 2023.

[Bagnayr-3] "The Monastery of Bagnayr". Retrieved 13 March 2024.

[4] "The situation of Christian architectural heritage in Turkey". Retrieved 13 March 2024.

[5] Jean Michel Thierry, A Propos de quelques monuments chrétiens du Vilayet de Kars, Revue des Études Arméniennes XVII (1983), pp. 329-394.

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