Azad-Hye, Dubai, 13 May 2006:
In May 2005, Armenian news agencies reported that the Monastery was turned into a cafe with the intention also to build a hotel or a recreation center on the site. After actions by the Cypriot Government, international bodies expressed concern on this matter, notably the
In April 2006 Easter time, Sebouh Armenagian, a Cypriot Armenian based in Sharjah (UAE), visited Sourp Magar Monastery with the spiritual leaders of the community. Here are his notes:
It was Armenian Easter. We met Hayr Paren in the
We were informed that he and Archbishop Varoujan Hergelian (Catholicosal Vicar) are planning to go to visit Sourp Magar Monastery in the occupied areas after the Easter. He invited us to join the group.
The next day we headed to the Prelacy in
We noticed that both Archbishop Varoujan and Rev. Father Paren were wearing civil clothes. They told that though it was not forbidden to go to the occupied part with formal wearing, but it is better to keep low profile and not to provoke any reaction there.
At the borders (the so called Green Line) we had a bad feeling when we read a big banner stating: “I am happy that I am a Turk”. You could see churches transformed to mosques, houses of Greek Cypriots inhabited by Turks, etc.
We followed Dr. Antranik Ashdjian's instructions and took the
After the signboard we took a narrow road, where only one vehicle could pass. We were thinking what will happen if another car appears from the opposite direction. Vache managed to reach to a point where “Armenian Monastery” was written.
The Monastery was closed. We went to a nearby governmental office, where we communicated with the Turks using English and some Turkish. We asked for the key. A wrong key was given first and then we received the correct one.
We had to walk for some 2 kilometers. We reached there and saw the Monastery transformed into a restaurant.
Archbishop Varoujan remembered that he had held a baptism ceremony in the same place in 1973, one year before the invasion. He gave us some explanations.
We noticed that the most part of the church has been destroyed. In the baptism basin we could see only the letters HA (the first letters of havadk = faith). The complete saying is faith, hope and baptism.
Various parts of the Monastery were extensively dug up by the Turks in the hope of finding gold.
On the way back we had a stop at the
At 5 pm we were back in the Prelacy, thinking what unforgettable day we had just experienced.
END OF SEBOUH ARMENAGIAN'S NOTES
Additional reading
Sourp Magar Monastery (Magaravank)
The monastery of Sourp Magar is situated at a height of 510 meters above sea level, on the northern slopes of the Kyrenia mountain range.
Sourp Magar means “Saint Makarios the Blessed“. It was first established in about 1000 AD as a Coptic monastery, and was dedicated to Saint Makarios of
Its location being at the edge of the cliff and the beginning of a deep ravine is very picturesque.
The monastery came into the hands of Armenians at a later stage (15th century). The exact date and the circumstances of this transfer are unclear.
Close relations exist between the Coptic and Armenian churches since the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD.
Sourp Magar has been a religious centre for Armenians for centuries. Although under the jurisdiction of the Catholicosate of Cilicia, it has had close ties with St. James' Monastery in
The monastery was also used as a summer resort by the Armenian Church and became a favorite pilgrimage spot for Armenians on their way to and from the
The upheavals in the
Right until the Turkish invasion of 1974, the monastery was a favorite place for Armenian families and schools to visit, as its grounds were particularly pleasant, especially in the hot summer months. The feast day is 1st May.
All manuscripts and other relics kept in the Monastery were plundered and sold and only the intervention of the
From 1974 to 2005, the monastery has been inaccessible to Armenians or Greek Cypriots. Lately it was allowed to conduct daytime visits to the occupied part of
Sources:
See the page on the Armenian churches in
?
? Sourp Magar Monastery (Magaravank): Located in the Kyrenia Mountain Range, with more than 9000 donums of orchards and fields
? Ganchvor Sourp Asdvadzadzin Monastery in
2- “Guardian” article on travel to Sourp Magar Monastery and other historical areas in the occupied part of
http://travel.guardian.co.uk/countries/story/0,7451,568738,00.html
