DIGOR AND AROUND

Digor Five Churches
These churches were built in a deep canyon three kilometers outside the town of Digor, which is 47 kilometers east of Kars. The only surviving one is Saint Sarkis Church. There are no inscriptions depicting the history of the churches or the monastery. The monastery was abandoned in the 13th century Mongolian invasion. In 1878 when the Kars region fell into the hands of the Russians, the five churches were handed over to the Armenians. The buildings were restored that time and the monastery started to function. But in the following years they were severely damaged.

The five churches are: Saint Karapet, Mother Mary,

Saint Stefanos, Saint Gregory and Saint Sarkis Churches. Saint Sarkis is the biggest of the five and the oldest inscription on it dates back to 1033. The architecture and the stonework give this church a special status among the other historical structures of Ani. Some sources describe it as looking as if it was carved from a large orange stone, because of the stonework and the different-colored stones used in its construction.

Magazbert Castle
This castle is in the village of Magazbert (Uc Boluk) on the west of the Arpacay River. It was built by the Byzantines in the 8th century but was also used during the Bagradit, Seljuk and Ottoman Empires. Some sources refer to it as one of the castles that guarded Ani during the Bagradit period. It is also believed that there was a small settlement inside the castle with chapels and houses. However the castle is in a military zone and cannot be visited.

Varli Church
This church situated in the village of Varli (Zipni), eight kilometers south of Digor, is today used as a mosque. The original building had a dome and cross-shaped plan but the dome collapsed during an earthquake at the beginning of the 20th century. The gap from the collapsed dome was covered with wood and the building continued to function as a church.

It is assumed that the building was constructed in the 10th century. When it was converted to a mosque, the door on the south wall was closed up and another was opened at the apsis wall. In the cemetery on the west of the church, six gravestones carved in the shape of horses were found. Just outside the village there are the foundations of another church which have not been examined.

There is another church in the village of Kilittas near Digor whose holy fountain and the grave of Pakran could be of interest, as well as the Mreni Karabag Church on the way to Igdir after Digor which is inside a military zone.