Armenian cemetery in Julfa
The Armenian cemetery in Julfa was a cemetery near the town of Julfa, in the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan that originally housed around 10,000 funerary monuments. The tombstones consisted mainly of thousands of khachkars—uniquely decorated cross-stones characteristic of medieval Christian Armenian art. The cemetery was still standing in the late 1990s, when the government of Azerbaijan began a systemic campaign to destroy the monuments.
Armenian cemetery in Julfa
Two Julfa khachkars, dated 1602 and 1603, removed from the graveyard before its destruction and now on display at Echmiadzin, Armenia.
The destruction of Julfa cemetery by Azeri soldiers in 2006
c. 1576
A khachkar or Armenian cross-stone is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, interlaces, and botanical motifs. Khachkars are characteristic of medieval Christian Armenian art.
The famous khachkar at Goshavank, carved in 1291 by the artist Poghos
The famous 13th century Armenian-inscribed double khachkars of the Memorial Bell-Tower of the Dadivank Monastery
A 15th century khachkar at the Armenian Cathedral of Saint James, Jerusalem
Two 16th century Julfa khachkars in Etchmiadzin, removed from the Julfa graveyard before its destruction by Azerbaijan.
