YEDİKİLİSE MANASTIRI (VARAGAVANK) GİRİŞLERİ VE SÜSLEME ÖZELLİKLERİ ÜZERİNE BİR DEĞERLENDİRME

Van city, that one of the important settlements for Armenians, hosts many important works of Christian religious architecture. Yedikilise Monastery (Varagavank) is one of the important works of Armenian religious architecture which believed to be founded to protect piece of the holy cross and one-period used as the archbishopric center. The monastery located in the İpekyolu District of Van consists of built in different periods six churches, a jamatun, a bell tower and outbuildings. Some of the monastery buildings built between 981- 1817 have not survived. Among the structures of the that can reached today; Surp Astuacacin Church, St. Georges Jamatunu, St. Croix and St. Sion Churches are remarkable structures with their architecture and stone decoration programs. The decorations in the buildings are located on the wall surfaces with the entrance doors of the jamatun and churches. Within the scope of this study,by handling seven entrances belonging to the monastery structures, were evaluated their architectural forms and stone decorations. Armenians have produced distinctive architectural forms over time. However, the Armenian community, which has been under the influence of many cultures by region were they live, reflected this effect on the architectural works it produced. It is understood that it interacting with Turkish-Islamic art in terms of form and decoration elements, considering that it was built after the great earthquake that occurred in Van in 1648 of Yedikilise Monastry (Varagavank) entrances.