Fresheffort tostopdecay inCaucasus


Newmoney and nomoney–enemies of heritage inGeorgia andArmenia. TwoBritons are spearheading efforts to raise awareness of the threat


Britishwriter Peter Nasmyth and a former British ambassador to Georgia, Stephen Nash, to protect the capital’s fast disappearing old buildings. Meanwhile, ReArk, an Armenian pressure group, is cataloguing the country’s threatened buildings, which have origins stretching in some cases as far back as the sixth century. Both Armenia and Georgia were Soviet republics,


T


but since the fall of Communismthe neweconomic climate has encouraged construction development, to the detriment of the old city. In Tbilisi, giving the city a newlook seems to be a priority for presidentMikhail Sakashvili, whowants to put asmuch distance between Georgia and its previous close cultural ties with Russia. This has led to demolitions and inappropriate newconstruction such as that of the Bridge of Peace,made of glass and steel, that stretches over theMtkvari river. Mostworrying of all is a growing tendency for


replication. Protected oldwooden buildings, not highly valued as they are often withoutmodern conveniences, are bought up by speculative developers. They are then pulled down and rebuilt usingmodernmaterials andwith different details, the proportions often changing in the process. Tbilisi is particularly fragile: the brick and stone


buildings in the old town open out into beautiful interior courtyards, built around with wooden galleries,many of themglazed. There is a charmto these streets and buildings, althoughmany people still live in poverty. Yerevan, the Armenian capital – like Tbilisi a


mountainous city of architecture from every period – is under threat frominsensitive newdevelopment. It faces the same problems as Tbilisi, but is less well known internationally. The ReArk website is intended to go someway to changing this. ReArkwas set up by three Armenians, only one


ofwhomlives in the country (the Armenian diaspora is enormous). Theirwebsite features a “Wall of Shame” for bad newbuilding projects, a “Wall of Pride” for


good ones, and a “Red Book” – an inventory of threatened buildings. These include the “Red Bridge”, a 17th-century structure over theHrazdan river that once linkedMount Araratwith Yerevan Castle. The bridge has partially collapsed as a result of leaks fromwater pipes running along its length. Thewebsite calls on the Armenian government to conserve and repairwhat remains of the bridge. Other buildings on the ReArk website in need of


conservation include St Katoghike Cathedral (seventh century, rebuilt in the 17th century), and the ruins of sixth-century Avan Cathedral, both in Yerevan. ClementineCecil


Formore information about the Tbilisi Heritage Group, please contact Peter Nasmyth or Stephen Nash by email – tbilisiheritagegroup@hotmail.com – and for Armenia heritage at risk information visit the websitewww.reark.org


Cornerstone, Vol 32, No 2 2011 67


Above (left), Tbilisi circa 1900, a coloured photograph. Above right, ancient Avan Cathedral and, left, St Katoghike Cathedral, both in Yerevan


wo heritage groups have been formed in the past sixmonths to protect the heritage of the Caucasus, which possesses some of the most ancient sites in the world. The Tbilisi Heritage Group has been founded by


Left, ‘progress’ by pickaxe in Tbilisi spells the end for yet another old building. Britons are leading a new attempt to stop the losses


Above (left), the Red Bridge in Yerevan dates from the 1600s and is in danger of being lost. Above right, before decay set in


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88