Narekavank

Narekavank (Armenian: Նարեկավանք, "Monastery of Narek", Western Armenian: Nareg) was a tenth-century Armenian monastery in the historic province of Vaspurakan, near the southern shores of Lake Van, in present-day Gevaş district in Van Province in eastern Turkey. The monastery was one of the most prominent in medieval Armenia and had a major school. The poet Gregory of Narek (Grigor Narekatsi) notably flourished at the monastery. It was abandoned in 1915 during the Armenian genocide, and reportedly demolished around 1951. A mosque now stands on its location. The monastery was founded during the reign of the Artsruni King Gagik I of Vaspurakan (r. 908–43) by Armenian monks who fled the Byzantine Empire due to religious persecution. In the 10th century father Ananias of Narek (Anania Narekatsi) founded a school, which became one of the most prominent centers of learning in medieval Armenia. Gregory of Narek (Grigor Narekatsi, c. 951–1003), a prominent mystical poet, studied and flourished at the monastery, making the "name of the institution immortal". To this day, the monastery is mostly associated with Gregory of Narek.