St. Tovmas Monastery

At the call of the mountains of the Armenian Highland, I started to examine the ascents of Turkish mountaineers. I noticed a group of tourists climbing along the shores of Lake Van to the monastery complex, located on the slopes of the mountain. It was the St. Tovmas monastery. If there is a church on the shore of Lake Van, then it is definitely Armenian.

The purpose of our hikes is to study natural monuments, but the geographical position of this monastery could not leave us indifferent. The monastery complex was in great harmony with the Lake Van. The architecture and nature were so Armenian, and there was such historical spirit in that scene, that I decided to add this route to our journey.

After climbing Mount Varag, we had an overnight in tents on the shore of Lake Van. The next destination was Sasun. As it is said in famous Armenian song “We have a long way to Sasun, mount Maratuk is waiting for us”. We had a surprise on our way to Sasun. This is how I described our visit to St. Tovmas Monastery. For me this monastery was an unexpected discovery. As I mentioned above I was especially struck by its geographical position, and I was sure that the others would feel the same. St. Tovmas is located near Gandzak village. As soon as we entered the village, we immediately found ourselves standing in front of an Armenian church. All of us were here for the first time, but we Armenians have some instinct of distinguishing the church from other buildings.

Historical Facts

St. Tovmas monastery is located on the top of a hill just past Karmravank. This monastery dates back to the 10^th-11^th centuries, and is located near the top of a barren hill overlooking Lake Van. The monastery is located near the old Armenian village of Gandzak, which is today known by its new Turkish name, Altinsac. According to the inscription on the church in Armenian, the monastery was restored in 1581, and walls were built around it in 1671. The entire exterior was restored in 1801. The monastery functioned until 1915.

There is an Armenian cemetery 100 meters west of the monastery, in which a large number of patterned tombstones have survived to this day.

A little higher, there is a magnificent view of the St Tovmas Monastery and Lake Van. We were delighted with the beauty we saw and left with sadness.

Tigran Shahbazyan

Photos by Davit Mirzoyan and Tigran Shahbazyan

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Armenian Highland