Church :: ARMENIAN HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Church

Turkey / / Balu

In 2006 we saw an information board near the entrance to the church of the fortress town of Balu (board No. 8). In 2008 we found it removed from its original place and lying on the ground near the monument.
Its Turkish text reads: Kilise (Bizans Imparatorluğu dönemi) (475-1453) Kesin tarihi bilinmemekle beraber bir Bizans eseridir. Kilisenin yalnız naos kısmı ayaktadır. Diğer kısımları yıkılmıştır. Kare planlı mekanın üzeri kubbe ile örtülüdür. Kubbe, bu gün yıkıktır. Sadece kubbe kasnağı mevcuttur. Kubbe, kasnağında yuvarlak kemerli pencereler yer alır. Kubbeye geçiş pantatiflerle sağlanır. Kubbeyi taşıyan dort kemer, payelerle oturtulmuştur. Derin, dışarı taşkın apsisi üzeri yarım, kubbe önü ise tonozla örtülüdür. Duvar freksleri apsis, kemeri yazı firizlidir. Tonoza yakın kısımda iki kanatlı melek, kemerin alt köşesinde sağda Hz. Meryem, solda Hz. Cebrail motifi vardır. Apsisin yarım kubbesinde Hz. İsa tasviri tamamen harap olmuştur. Apsis önü tonoz ortasında ise, güneş tasviri yer almaktadır. Kubbe kasnağında iki pencere, aralarında ise, aziz tasvirleri pantatiflerde ise 4 incilin yazar figürü görülür. T.C Palu kaymakamliği 19 mayıs 2004 The English text says: Church (Byzantium period) (475-1453) Though when it was built is unknown, it is abyzantine master. Only the naos part of the church has come to our time. Other parts had collapsed. The square shaped place is covered with a dome This dome is collapsed now. There is only a dome hoop at present. There are windows with circle arches on the dome hoop. Passing through the dome is by means of pendentive. The four arches carrying the dome are put in ranks. The arch wihch is deep and extenting out wards is half and front part of the dome is covered with vault. The wall presgoes: The abscisca and arch are writing frieze. Are an angel with two wings near the vault, vingin Mary at the bottom, on the right corner and on the left a motif of archangel Gabriel. The motif of Christ is completely ruind. In the middle part of the vault which is in front of the abscisca, there is a descriftion of the sun. There are two windows on the dome hoop; between them are the descriptions of the saints and on the pendentives we see the figures of writers of the four ribles. Transl. from Turkish: Church Period of Byzantine Empire (475 to 1453) The exact year of its construction is unknown, but it is a Byzantine monument. Only its nave is preserved while the rest of it has been reduced to ruins. This section, which has a rectangular plan, used to be crowned with a dome, but at present it is destroyed. Only its tambour is preserved standing, with arched windows on it. The passage towards the dome has been realised through pendentives. The four dome-bearing arches are covered with step-shaped cornices. The inner part of the outwardly accentuated apse is covered with a concha, and its front part with a vault. The apse arch bears an inscription in painted characters. The sanctuary is embellished with murals: two winged angels are seen near the vault, with Holy Virgin Mary on the right side of the arch, Archangel Gabriel on its left side and the sun in its centre. The representation of Jesus on the concha has been thoroughly decomposed. There are other frescoes showing the apostles between the windows of the drum, with the 4 Evangelists on the pendentives.

Kortoshian Raffi, What is Concealed in the Turkish Information Boards of Historical Monuments in Western Armenia?, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 5, pp. 3-6.

Type Photo
View Exterior
Author Raffi Kortoshian
Source Colour Negative
Date 2006 y․

Type Photo
View Exterior
Author Jean-Michel Thierry
Source Colour Negative
Date 1987 y․

Photo No. 1

Type Photo
View Exterior
Author Raffi Kortoshian
Source Colour Negative
Date 2006 y․

Photo No. 2

Type Photo
View Exterior
Direction From the south-west
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Colour Negative