Monastery of the Holy Cross of Varag (Varagavank)

The Monastery of the Holy Cross of Varag (Varagavank) is an Armenian monastery complex near the city of Van, in Western Armenia. It is now under Turkish occupation. Founded at the beginning of the 11th century, it was an important spiritual and cultural centre of the Armenian Church and the seat of the Archbishop of Van. According to tradition, it was built where a fragment of the True Cross had been hidden.

The complex was badly damaged during the Armenian Genocide in 1915 and in the following decades. In recent years it has been half-ruined, with some parts used as a barn or a goat shed.

The old photograph shows the domed churches, the arcaded hall and the mountains behind.