GEGHARD'S MONASTERY AND TROGLODYTE CHAPELS

After the temple of Garni, which takes us back to the older times of Armenian paganism, Armenian Christian architecture is masterfully represented about ten kilometres further east, at the monastery of Geghard and its rocky extensions. Leaving the majestic site of Garni, with its panoramic view of the Kegham mountain range, one enters the more intimate world of the valley of a tributary of the Azad, which narrows to form a gorge with high rocky walls. Lying at the bottom of a green valley at an altitude of 1,600 m, protected by large stone ramparts that seem quite derisory compared to the overhanging rocks, the monastery of Sourp Geghard (Saint Lance) is a Mecca for Armenian art and spirituality. Its serenity is only disturbed by the murmur of the small waterfall that falls from the mountains beneath the ramparts, but also by the many street vendors who sell local products or small temple items to tourists, as well as lambs and chickens to the pilgrims who come in large numbers to perform their ritual sacrifices (madagh) at the foot of the monastery and along the river. This intense activity also designates Geghard as a place of pilgrimage and walking for the people of Yerevan, who leave multicoloured votive ribbons and all kinds of materials hanging from trees all along the river. The present appearance of the monastery dates back to the 13th century for the most part. However, it has been documented since the early Middle Ages as "Ayrivank", the cave monastery, which suggests that troglodytic chapels were dug into the rock face of the monastery, which is unique in Armenia, from the time of its creation. The name of Geghard (or Keghart according to the pronunciation) under which he is better known comes from the relic of the iron of the Roman spear which would have pierced the side of Christ, and which was preserved there before being exposed in Etchmiadzin. The monastery was founded during the reign of the Zakarid princes, vassals of Georgia, under whose authority this region of Armenia regained its independence in the 12th century, of which it was the property; it was on their initiative that the external buildings, namely the church and its narthex, were built.

A lace of stones. Bought in 1240 by the Proch Khalbakian princes - a local nobility known as the Prochian - the monastery began a second life, more underground perhaps, but no less luminous: it is indeed from this period that the rock churches that will make its originality and fame date. A church (1240), monastic cells (1260) adjoining the main church of the Mother of God (Sourp Asdvadzadzine), a funerary chapel with a vestibule (1283) and finally a mausoleum (1288), the hidden part of the monastery, carved in a string of vestibules in the rock of the mountain, constitute a real lapidary museum, which is also enriched by numerous crosses carved in the walls of the mountain to which the monastery is leaning and other khatchkar dating from the same period scattered on the site. Restorations in the 17th and 18th centuries have not altered the ensemble; as for the monastery buildings leaning against the southern rampart, with their small wooden balconies, they add a small rustic note.

The outer church, the Sourp Asdvadzadzine Cathedral, due to the brothers Zakaré and Ivané in 1215, follows the traditional plan of Armenian churches. Of modest dimensions, it is topped by a cylindrical drum with a pointed roof and traversed by fine arcatures enriched with animal and human figures. The carved decoration is particularly interesting, on the tympanum of the south portal, with bas-reliefs representing pomegranates and vine stocks, and above the window, with a high relief representing a lion fighting a buffalo, or festooned friezes highlighting the niches. The narthex, or jamatoun (1225), a vast rectangular room adjoining the church, is particularly interesting for its interior decoration, which bears the obvious influence of the East. Organised around four powerful pillars, the interior space, where the stalactites or muqaba, carved into the dome as in the Alhambra of Granada, play on the contrasts of light and shadow, is literally dazzling.

Cave pieces. The rock chambers on the first level are accessed through two doors cut into the north wall. The small church carved into the rock reproduces the plan of the jamatun, with four crossed arches on supports engaged in the wall, articulated around a central dome with stalactites, at the bottom of which the architect Galdzak engraved his name; at the bottom, one can see the spring with its perhaps miraculous virtues which could have been the origin of the foundation of the monastery. The northeastern end of the jamatoun gives access to a small, richly carved square room, which is the mausoleum of Prince Prochian, separated from another room by a central column delimiting two arches; above, one notices a bas-relief representing an ox's head holding two dragon-tailed lions on a leash, between which is an eagle holding a lamb in its talons, the coat of arms of the Prochian princes.