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HISTORY
AND
MONUMENTS
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The
Pontic Alps are a formidable obstacle to travellers and conquerors,
and have formed a refuge for many minority populations fleeing
persecutions. North-west to south-east routes link the medieval
entrepot of Erzurum, gateway to Persia and last defence against
Russia, with the ancient Greek colonies on the Black Sea.
Travellers' Tales:
Xenophon was the first explorer to write
about the area. In the 4th C BC, he brought his army of 10,000
Greek soldiers back from Persia, where they had been serving
as mercenaries. After fighting his way across Kurdish territory
in a bitter winter and losing many men to frostbite and hunger,
he crossed the Pontic Alps by the Zigana Pass:
"When the men in front reached the summit
and caught sight of the sea there was a great shouting.
Xenophon and the rearguard heard it and thought that there
were some more enemies attacking in front ...So Xenophon
rode forward to give support and heard the soldiers shouting
out 'The sea! The sea!' and passing the word down the column.
When the all got to the top, the soldiers, with tears in
their eyes, embraced each other and their generals and captains.
They collected stones and made a great pile of them and
put on top the shields which they had captured."
In early December 1890, Isabella Bird,
a British explorer of Persia and Kurdistan, crossed the same
pass:
"The snowstorm had lasted for nearly
three days and the snow was from four to nine feet deep
on the summit, and the thawing of its surface at lower altitudes
had resulted in the production of slopes of ice, over which
I had to walk for two hours as Boy (the horse) could scarcely
keep on his feet. The early snow has a witchery of its own,
and I was astonished at the magnificence of the scenery,
and at the vast pine forests which clothe the muntain sides.
Villages of chalets with irregular balconies and steep roofs
are perched on the rocky heights or nestle among walnuts,
with a blue background of pines above which tower spires
and peaks of unsullied snow; ridges rise into fantastic
forms and mimicries of minarets and castles; pines, filling
gigantic ravines with their blue gloom, stand sentinel over
torrents silenced for the winter; and colossal heights and
colossal depths, an uplifted snow world of ceaseless surprises
under a blue sky full of light, make one fancy onself in
Switzerland, 'til a long train of decorated camels or a
turbaned party of armed travellers dissipates the dream."
Churches:
A scattering of abandoned or converted churches, some dating
from the heyday of the Georgian kingdom in the 10th and 11th
C, recalls past glories.
The chief churches are:
Haho - Monastery and church dated 961-1001, built by
David the Great, in good conditiona and used as a mosque.
Osk Vank - Ornate and beautiful church, also David
the Great, with frescoes.
Ishan - 7th - 11th C church of the virgin; the roof
has fallen, but an imposing dome remains.
Bana - 7th C Armenian - Georgian church, destroyed
by the Russians in 1877; just the huge rotunda remains.
Dörtkilise - 10th C, restored by David the Great,
the twin of the Barhal church; deserted; some frescoes remain.
Barhal - Late 10th C, huge basilica church with steep
pitched roof and minor carving; restored for use as mosque,
then almost abandoned.
Dolishane - 954-958 domed church by Smbat 1, with minor
frescoes and exterior carving.
Porta - 9th C monastery and 10th C church with holes
in the dome and walls, with a separate cupola with inscriptions.
Tbeti - 10th C monastery church with a cross in square
plan, some relief work but extensive damage to the cloister.
As well as the churches, many rocky outcrops have their own
fortifications - ancient castles rear crumbling ramparts against
the sky.
Reading:
For an entertaining insight into the history
of the area:
East of Trebizond, Michael Pereira, Geoffrey Bles,
1971.
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