The erasure of Armenian cultural history in Nakhichevan is one of the most underreported acts of cultural destruction in the 21st century. The year 2020 marks the 15-year commemoration of the final phase of this systematic destruction, when in 2005, the Azerbaijani army destroyed with sledgehammers thousands of remaining khachkars in Jugha (Old Julfa) in Nakhichevan, effectively eliminating the last remains of Armenian cultural presence in the region. UNESCO had designated these monuments as Cultural Identity but took no action to protect them.
Hidden for centuries under whitewash, the paintings of the apse of Ani Cathedral, one of the most famous of Armenian churches, were barely known by scholars. Image software technology has now brought many more details of the composition to light, enough to identify the scene as a beautiful Vision of Ezekiel. It has also revealed an apse inscription on the south wall.
The erasure of Armenian cultural history in Nakhichevan is one of the most underreported acts of cultural destruction in the 21st century. The year 2020 marks the 15-year commemoration of the final phase of this systematic destruction, when in 2005, the Azerbaijani army destroyed with sledgehammers thousands of remaining khachkars in Jugha (Old Julfa) in Nakhichevan, effectively eliminating the last remains of Armenian cultural presence in the region. UNESCO had designated these monuments as Cultural Identity but took no action to protect them.
Hidden for centuries under whitewash, the paintings of the apse of Ani Cathedral, one of the most famous of Armenian churches, were barely known by scholars. Image software technology has now brought many more details of the composition to light, enough to identify the scene as a beautiful Vision of Ezekiel. It has also revealed an apse inscription on the south wall.