2007_12 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper December 2007

              8
Hye Sharzhoom
December 2007
Elbrechts, From page 1
Asked why they have devoted
so much of their lives to this proj ect,
the Elbrechts explained: "The photographs give meaning to historical accounts, and promote a deeper
understanding of the elusive and
plaintive history of an extraordinary people and their relationships
with the people around them." The
photographs interest people of all
ages, including children who ask
when and why the churches were
built, scholars of art, architecture,
and religion, who can see details of
church design and decoration not
readily available, and Armenians
who treasure the images of their
historical roots.
The detailed, brightly colored
photographs that make up this collection express the reality and spirit
of the churches and their natural
surroundings. Almost all were
made using a large-format Toyo
45A field camera and 6x9 cm
color film. To help achieve a "complete record," church interiors were
photographed using extra wide-
angle lenses, including a 35-mm
Rodenstock Grandagon, a 47 mm
Schneider Super-AnguIon, and a
75mm Rodenstock Grandagon.
The film Fuji Reala was chosen
because of its low contrast and
highly saturated color, which facilitates photographing both the
unilluminated church interiors and
the open skies and surrounding landscapes at the same time. While
some church drums and domes remain intact, many are missing due
to earthquakes and vandalism, leaving the interiors open to the sky. In
the case of one tenth-century church
- Surb Sarkis at Khtskonk near Ani
- the surrounding landscape is visible from inside the church through
walls pierced by explosives planted
at the four corners in the 1960's.
With the exception ofthe Armenian
church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator in Kayseri, none of the
churches are currently functioning
as churches. Asked how did this
project come about, the Elbrechts
explain that on returning from their
1987 vacation, asked themselves
whether identifying, locating, and
photographing these and other Armenian churches might facilitate
their restoration. They began to
comb scholarly publications about
Armenian church architecture and
learned that there were hundreds of
Armenian churches still extant in
Turkey, some built as early as the
seventh century. Often located atop
the highest hill in the area, most
w ere rare ly vi s ite d. S ome one, the y
felt, had to document these monuments by photographing them before they disappeared altogether.
Each ofthe Elbrechts' ninetrips
has included surprises. Typical
were their attempts in 1996 to reach
the Armenian churches atHoromos
and Mr en. Horomos is located on
the Turkish-Armen ian border
about four miles northeast of Ani.
Relying on roadmaps and the scholarly articles they brought with
them, they took an unpaved road,
hoping to find a trail that would
lead to the church. At the end of
the dirt road stood a military base
with a sign reading "DUR"
(STOP). "Tour-ist, tour-ist," they
said, hoping to get a friendly response from the officers who came
running over to their car. One of
the Turkish officers spoke English.
Horomos, he said, was off limits
and could only be reached by helicopter. But in typical Turkish fashion, he invited the Elbrechts into
his office for tea. It was, he explained, a very lonely posting. The
soldiers weren't allowed to leave
the base, even to go to nearby Kars
for a movie.
But could they get to Mren, a
Shoghaken Folk Ensemble
of Armenia
The Shoghaken Folk Ensemble was founded in 1991
by dudukist Gevorg Dabaghyan in Yerevan. The group
uses only traditional Armenian instruments, maintaining an authentic sound with the duduk, zurna, dhol,
kanon,kamancha, shvi, and other instruments. Singers
Hasmik Harutyunyan and Aleksan Harutyunyan are
known throughout Armenia, the former Soviet Union,
and Europe for their unique interpretation of Armenian folk and ashoughagan (troubadour) music.
Tuesday, February 26 ,2008
8:00PM
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Tickets-$20 adult • $10 Students
Armenian Studies Program • 559-278-2669 and other outlets.
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seventh-century church located on
the border about fifty kilometers
southeast of Ani, which some
French scholars said was still intact? The Elbrechts phoned an
Armenian friend in Los Angeles
who leads tours of Armenians to
Turkey and knows Turkey well.
"Hire a taxi," he said. So the next
day, maps in hand, Richard and an
obligingtaxi ventured south to ward
Mren. On reaching yet another military roadblock, he was told again
that the church was off-limits and
reachable only by helicopter. Returning to the main road, they
stopped at a village whose Kurdish
chief offered to transport them to
the church on a tractor - an offer
Richard accepted. Mounting the
tractor and sitting on one of its
fenders with one hand on his camera case, the other holding a tripod
and gripping the tractor's supporting canopy, Richard endured the
45-minute ride across the desolate
terrain of rocks and potholes, reaching Mren in time to take the photographs that are included in this collection. The resulting photos of
Mren - with both drum and dome
still intact - made the trip altogether worthwhile.
"At each of the photographed
churches, the Turkish and Kurdish
villagers who live near the ruins
have helped us locate and photograph the churches," the Elbrechts
report. "The villagers usually identify them as Armenian in origin.
They seem to view them as part of
their own heritage, and apparently
want to care for them, especially
those in use as mosques, museums,
or barns. Despite the evidence of
vandalism, the major risks to Armenian churches in eastern Anatolia
at this time seem to be earthquakes
and aging."
As long as time and health permit, the Elbrechts will return to
Turkey to photograph the extant
churches - almost all of them edifices of majesty and beauty. Their
presence tells the story ofthe three
thousand years of Armenian presence in the lands where Armenian
Christianity took root far more accurately and persuasively than
might be told by words. "It is
imperative that the government of
Turkey with active support from
the world allow properly-trained
specialists to restore and maintain
these monuments - which are indeed Treasures ofthe World - before they disappear forever."
Anne Elizabeth Elbrecht is a
graduate of Wheaton College,University of California Berkeley
School of Library Studies, and
McGeorge School of Law. She has
just completed a lengthy thesis for
a Masters of Art Degree at California State University Sacramento.
Her thesis examines the reporting
of news in the New York Times and
the Missionary Herald about the
Armenian Genocide. Richard A.
Elbrecht is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Michigan School of Law. As an undergraduate, he managed the photographic staff of the Yale Daily
Ne w s. B o th E lbre chts re tire d fr om
their positions as staff attorneys for
the State of California in 2003.
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