The actor Aram Vruyr beside a khachkar in Jugha, 1915

The actor Aram Vruyr beside a khachkar in Jugha, 1915. The photograph shows the Armenian cemetery of Old Jugha (Julfa), on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, before its complete destruction in 2005.

The cemetery held the largest collection of medieval Armenian khachkars and ram-shaped tombstones. According to the French traveller Alexandre de Rhodes, in 1648 there were up to 10,000 khachkars here, and in the 1970s about 3,000 khachkars and 1,000 tombstones remained. The destruction of the cemetery was organised by the authorities of Azerbaijan, which was condemned by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

A man in a cap leans his elbow on a tall khachkar. At the centre of the khachkar is a cross within an arched frame, surrounded by patterns, with a round ornament below. Behind are other khachkars and a rocky slope.