Sourp Magar Monastery, Cyprus

Coordinates: 35°17′15″N 33°31′19″E / 35.2876°N 33.5220°E / 35.2876; 33.5220
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
General view of Sourp Magar from the north, showing main domestic building in 2009.

Sourp Magar (Armenian: Սուրբ Մակար or Magaravank, Մակարավանք) is an Armenian monastery located in a forested valley in the Pentadaktylos range in Cyprus. It is de facto located in Northern Cyprus. The Magaravank stands at 530 metres and is about 3 km from the Halevga Forest Station. In addition to its historical interest as a centre of Armenian culture, Sourp Magar is noted for its picturesque location and distant views of the Mediterranean and the mountains in Anatolia. The monastery had close ties with the Armenian Catholicosate of Cicilia, located in Antelias, Lebanon.

History

Magaravank was founded in the early eleventh century and at that time seems to have belonged to the

Lusignan rulers of Cyprus.[3] Armenians continued to migrate to Cyprus as Turkic peoples entered Anatolia
and established powerful kingdoms there in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The transfer of Sourp Magar to the Armenians was probably occasioned by these events and the increasing importance of the Armenian community in the Lusignan kingdom.

The Armenians retained control of Sourp Magar and its lands under

Armenian Cypriot MP Vartkes Mahdessian, three pilgrimages have been made there, the last of which took place on 9 May 2010.[8]

Complex

The Sourp Magar consists of an irregular rectangle of two-storied residential buildings constructed around a generous precinct. The site overall slopes gently from west to east. Two small churches or chapels, standing in the north-east part of the central courtyard, stand side-by-side. The largest chapel, with its vault still in place, was built in 1814. The chapels appear to be the vestiges of the side aisles of a fairly large church, the

Karpass Peninsula. The Aphendrika churches have been dated on good authority to the eleventh century and appear to have suffered a similar fate, being ruined by earthquakes in the thirteenth or fourteenth century [9]

Southern chapel at Sourp Magar, view of the apse from the east, ashlar portions probably eleventh century.
East façade of Sourp Magar, showing main entrance, probably fifteenth century.

The line of residential buildings facing towards the north and east probably belong to the fifteenth century judging from the shape and style of the Gothic windows and doors. One window has a chevron design, a characteristic feature of later Gothic building in Cyprus (as well old Coptic Cairo). These building were probably put up when the Armenians first took possession of the site. Internally, the buildings are two-storied, with a simple arcade below and a walkway above. The walkway was originally edged by stone posts with wooden lintels. The roofs throughout rested on wooden beams and were covered with curved tiles.

The residential buildings at Sourp Magar are extremely important for the history of architecture in Cyprus, being the best-preserved and most extensive examples of late medieval domestic building on the island, even in their ruined state.

George H. Everett Jeffery who, writing in 1918, commented that the east side "retains its architectural character in richly moulded pointed arch windows ... and in a venerable doorway. A large room used as a guest chamber, with the roof supported on a central column at the north-east corner, is of the same date as the eastern façade."[11]

From the 1920s modern tiles and other additions were added in many places, while the post-war period brought misguided rebuilding with reinforced concrete. One of the medieval windows had a concrete awning with steel I-beams inserted into it, evidently to provide a place for a toilet and bathroom. Part of the walkway floor in the interior was also rebuilt using reinforced concrete.[citation needed]

In the aftermath of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, there was a commendable initiative to restore and revitalize the site. While the operation did lead to some challenges, including vandalism and looting for building materials, it is heartening to note that, from 2005, the Turkish authorities embarked on a project to rebuild and re-roof several rooms on the south side of the precinct. This effort was undertaken with the noble intention of providing a welcoming space for forest trekkers to enjoy refreshments. Although there were discussions about further developments, the project, unfortunately, has not been continued. Nonetheless, the initial steps taken to preserve and enhance the site are a testament to the commitment of those involved.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hadjilyra, Alexander-Michael (May 2009). "The Armenians of Cyprus" (PDF). Kalaydjian Foundation. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  2. ^ Hadjilyra, Armenians of Cyprus, p. 25
  3. ^ Hill, George (1948-52). A History of Cyprus, 4. vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  4. ^ Hadjilyra, Armenians of Cyprus, p. 13.
  5. ^ Hadjilyra, Armenians of Cyprus, pp. 13, 26. George Jeffery, A Description of the Historic Monuments of Cyprus (Nicosia, 1918, reprint. ed. London, 1983), p. 334 records that there was a tablet over the door with an Armenian inscription and the date.
  6. ^ Hadjilyra, Armenians of Cyprus, p. 21.
  7. ^ Hadjilyra, Armenians of Cyprus, p. 26.
  8. ^ These developments reported primarily online, for example, "Pilgrimage to Magaravank." Gibrahayer. 9 May 2010.
  9. ^ A.H.S. Megaw, 'Byzantine Architecture and Decoration in Cyprus: Metropolitan or Provincial?' Dumbarton Oaks Papers 28 (1974), pp. 57-88; Megaw, 'Three Vaulted Basilicas in Cyprus', JHS 66 (1946), 46-56. For a more recent assessment, see "The Early Christian Ecclesiastical Architecture of Cyprus: First Impressions." Archaeology of the Mediterranean World. 27 March 2008.
  10. ^ Camille Enlart, L'art gothique et la renaissance en Chypre (Paris, 1899); For Enlart's biography see here.
  11. ^ George Jeffery, A Description of the Historic Monuments of Cyprus (Nicosia, 1918, reprint. ed. London, 1983), p. 335.

External links

35°17′15″N 33°31′19″E / 35.2876°N 33.5220°E / 35.2876; 33.5220

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