Satellite imagery shows that between Oct. 5, 2023, and April 30, 2024, the 19th century Tandzatap church in Garababa, Zangilan sustained major damage. Most of the roof has collapsed, as has the southern wall which featured an embedded stone engraved with a cross.
Photographs taken in the mid-1990s (see header image) indicate that the entryway in the southern wall was already damaged by that time. Also, the stone facing around the windows was no longer present.
The church remained in damaged but stable condition for decades until the recent collapse documented by CHW. The engraved cross, pictured below, is to the left of the large hole where the door once stood. More about this church from Monument Watch.
In a Dec 2021 provisional ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Azerbaijan to “prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage.” Baku must investigate and hold accountable any parties who caused the damage or failed to prevent it.
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Culture should add this 19th c. Armenian church to their list of protected monuments and plan for its restoration, in collaboration with Armenian architects. As the example of Cyprus has shown, bicommunal cultural heritage work can build bridges.
As world leaders gather in Baku for the COP29 summit to advance solutions for the future, they should also call on Azerbaijan to protect the past – particularly the cultural heritage of Karabakh Armenians exiled from their homes.
CHW announced the damage alert on social media, on November 18, 2024.
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