The Holy Cross Cathedral of Aghtamar, 1914

The photograph shows the Holy Cross Cathedral of Aghtamar on the island in Lake Van in 1914. The church has a conical dome on a tall cylindrical base, carved bands are visible on its walls, and there is an arched structure by the entrance. In the foreground many people, men and children, sit and stand on the grassy ground.

The cathedral was built in the 10th century under Gagik I Artsruni, King of Vaspurakan, and for a long time was an Armenian ecclesiastical and cultural centre. Local residents and pilgrims can be seen around it, testifying to the living spiritual role of the cathedral until the catastrophic events of the last years of the Ottoman Empire.