Surp Marinos Monastery

Surp Marinos Monastery (Armenian Սուրբ Մարինոս վանք ), also Srkhouvank, Srxuvank ', was an Armenian monastery in the district of Van province Gürpınar south-east of Lake Van in Eastern Anatolia region.

The monastery is located on a mountain slope at the Van Lake and overlooks the vastness and fertile lowlands of the valley of Hosap, now known as the Plain of Gürpınar, which in turn formerly as Hayodz Dzor (Armenian Հայոց Ձոր ) was known - with the meaning: valley of the Armenians.

History

The founding date of the monastery is not known, and the simplicity of its design makes it difficult to dating. It originally had the name legally Srkhouvank. It was established for a community of nuns and dedicated to Saints Marina and Theodora. It had a rich scriptorium during the second half of the 16th century; in the archive Matenadaran in Yerevan five manuscripts are kept in the Convent of St. Marina. The now heavily damaged building remains probably date from the 17th century. The monastery existed until the genocide of the Armenians in 1915 and 1922 was corrupted.