Armenian Monastic Ensembles

There seems to be a shared frustration about Dzordzor in the group. I also did not get to see it during my visit. As previous reviewers have already tackled a great deal about St. Stephanos and St. Thaddeus monasteries, I'd like to focus on Chupan Chapel, which is conveniently located on the way to St. Stephanos from Jolfa, and Darrasham Chapel (AKA Church of the Holy Mother of God), both components of the St. Stephanos Monastic Ensemble. After visiting the monastery, the driver of the rented car took it upon himself to drive us further to check Darrasham Chapel, of which Solivagant was right when he said that it lies in the "no photography zone". Apparently locals can go near the structure and some, as suggested by a few rubbish, even use the area for picnics. Among the three components of the ensemble, this chapel boasts the best setting in my opinion: deep in the valley, directly along the river (where one literally stares at the border fence), and surrounded by flowers (in the right season). One can rightly liken it to be from an idyllic countryside painting. Darrasham Chapel is supposed to be a village chapel, but there is hardly any sign of habitation in sight. Lying around the chapel are rubble, and it is hard to tell if they were from any previous significant structures. There seems to be little information about them. The structure is not in the best condition, in fact one may call …

As Els has recently reviewed the St Thaddeus Church part of this WHS, I will concentrate on its second “ensemble” (the word used by UNESCO) - around St Stepanos Monastery. This lies around 15kms west of the town of Jolfa, which is itself c230kms (a 2.5 hour drive by car) north of Tabriz on the Iran-Azerbaijan frontier opposite its Azerbaijani counterpart of Julfa which is situated within the exclave of the Nakchivan Autonomous Republic.

In order to place St Stepanos in its geographic and historical context, it is perhaps worth dwelling a little on the history of nearby Julfa/Jolfa in relation to Armenia. Julfa developed in the late middle ages into a prosperous, entirely Armenian, town and was captured from the Ottomans in 1603 by Shah Abbas. He decided he couldn’t hold it and decided forcibly to evacuate its inhabitants to use their skills in helping to build/populate Isfahan! Today there is a prosperous suburb of Isfahan called “New Jolfa" which contains the highly ornamented (and recommended) Vank cathedral built by those resettled Armenians from 1606. The remains of Old Julfa became an archaeological site which included a cemetery containing many fine Khachkars. (Armenian carved tomb stones) – none of which now remain. Azerbaijan says that there never were any and Armenia that Azerbaijan destroyed them all between 1998 -2006! “Facts” would seem to support Armenia in this particular aspect of the Armenian-Azeri spat.

The road from Jolfa to St Stepanos and on to St Thaddeus runs alongside the Iran-Azerbaijan …

The Armenian monastic ensembles comprise two monasteries and a church belonging to the Armenian Apostolic Church of Iran. This was probably the WHS I was most looking forward to in preparation of my recent tour of Azerbaijan & Northern Iran. Since it has been added to the List, I’ve always wondered why a Shiite theocracy would nominate a purely Christian pilgrimage site. Also, remote monasteries belong to my favourite types of WHS.

Out of the inscribed locations, I only visited the St. Thaddeus monastery, which is considered the main site. Legend has it that the apostle St. Thaddeus brought Christianity to Armenia, and this spot (now located on Iranian soil) was the place where he died. Sometime between the 7th and 10th centuries, the St. Thaddeus Monastery was founded here. It developed into a place of pilgrimage for Armenians from Iran and neighbouring countries. Annually in summer, a big festival is held in the vicinity of the monastery, with thousands of pilgrims staying in tents. From 1930 to 1947, the monastery was the seat of the Catholicos (spiritual leader) of the Armenian church.

As befits any good monastery, it lies in a very remote spot. The day before my visit I overhead our Iranian guide and Dutch tour leader in a fierce debate about how far the drive from Tabriz is and whether it is worthwhile to make a day trip. Neither of them had ever been there or possessed reliable information about the distance and road conditions. …

It is a serial nomination, but consists only of two elements, the St Stephanos monastery near Jolfa, and the "Black Church" (or, officially St Thaddeus monastery) near Maku. It is possible to do both on one day, but it will be a long and exhausting journey. Though theoretically one can get an Iranian tourist visa without having a local agency to fix his travel arrangements, it is advisable to have one, specially if you want to visit off the beaten track destinations - like these monasteries - as public transport will not take you there. Prior arrangements are helpful financially also, as - due to the sanctions still in function - no credit cards work in Iran, and bank transfers are also quite difficult. We made the arrangements through an Iranian friend, who hired a vintage Mercedes bus for us - the best option available in Tabriz. As our maximum speed on highways was cca 40 km/h, long journeys looked even longer.

St Stephanos is much easier to reach - but far less interesting than the Black Church. It is close to Jolfa, a bustling border town, that connects the Islamic Republic both with Armenia and with Azerbaijan. Jolfa is an easy two-three hours trip from Tabriz, the capital of the province, and the place most probably you will spend the night. From Jolfa the road winds near river Arax, the border with Armenia. The natural setting of the monatery is really stunning - on a lush green slope, looking …