Darkcastle Church [EN]

The cornices, arches on the wall, niches and reliefs are colored with white and red. The monastery dates to 9-10th centuries or the half of 11th century.

The monastery rooms were carved into a high rock mass. In the front, overlooking the valley, a passage, which connects the Church and the Chapel, and a door on the left-middle part of the large hall were opened. The hall with barrel vault connects to the Church on the west, and on the north to the main room and the space that leads to kitchen, storage room and other side spaces. The ceiling of the big hall is decorated with cross and lozenge reliefs. There are horses hoe-arched niches on the walls.

The church has an independent cross-planned burial chamber on the northeast; it is covered with a dome carved into the flat ceiling and it has two graves on north and south sides. The church is covered by eight-sliced vault rising on four pillars and a barrel vault on the arms of cross and diagonal vaults on the corner rooms. The corridor in the south and the flat ceilings of the chapel with one nave are decorated with square, lozenge and cross-patterned reliefs. The cornices, arches on the wall, niches and reliefs are colored with white and red. The monastery dates to 9-10th centuries or the half of 11th century.

Source: Info Board