Artist Maxim Atayants draws Armenian monastery of Khtzkonk, located in territory of Western Armenia 

Russian architect and artist Maxim Atayants drew the Armenian monastery of Khtzkonk, located in the territory of modern Turkey.

“I was there with colleagues in 2022. I made a couple of sketches back then, and now I’ve finally had a chance to complete it,” the artist wrote on social media.

He showed how the monastery looked a hundred years ago and how it looks now.

“Three churches out of four have disappeared completely. Note that the remaining one has breaks on all edges in the lower part so that it collapses at the first serious earthquake,” Atayants noted.

Khtzkonk is an Armenian medieval monastery complex of the 9th century, which consisted of five churches. It was located between the villages of Agarak and Digor, 25 kilometers from Ani. Nowadays it is almost completely destroyed. The monastery was built by the Armenian king Smbat.