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GANJASAR
/ XIII century
This convent consists of a large square wall built in the XVII century,
inside of which a large church preceded by a gavit’ of the XIII
century may be found.
The church, built in 1261 and the work of prince Jalel and his bride,
follows the style of the Armenian cross. At the meeting point of the
arms of the cross an ever-present cusp tambour may be found. The
internal space is dominated by the vast size of the central room. The
four corner rooms, here on two floors, are totally excluded from such a
conception of unity. The decorations appear particularly rich,
underlining the spatial function of the different elements. The same
care may be noted with regard to the exterior: the volume of the base is
inserted into a cage of walled arches of different shapes and sizes
framing niches and different styled windows in the search for an
expressive unity with rectangular windows, niches occupied by columns
and heraldic designs, other decorative or symbolic elements including
the figures of saints, animals etc.
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