Oshki Monastery

The ruins of Oshki Monastery, a 2012 Watch site, are found in the town of Çaml?yamaç in northeastern Turkey. The monastic complex—consisting of the large church, two small chapels, and associated monastic buildings—was constructed over a decade beginning in 963 through the patronage of the Georgian Bagrationi royal family. Oshki was abandoned in the seventeenth century, following the Ottoman conquest of the region. Part of the main church was reoccupied in the nineteenth century for a period of time after conversion of a transept into a mosque. The site is visited by tourists, but faces serious conservation challenges. This short film, shot between May 2012 and April 2013, shows its current state.

Camera: Levan Alimbarashvili, Giorgi Setsiruli, Zaza Shukvani, Zurab Aptiauri.
Edited by Nona Goksadze and Kate Beraia