The Berta monastery ( ka, ბერთა, tr, Berta Manastırı) is a former
Georgian Orthodox monastery at the village of
Ortaköy (formerly Berta),
Artvin Province,
Turkey. It was built in the 8th or 9th century. The surviving structure is now used as a
mosque.
History
The Monastery of the Mother of God in Berta or Bertay is first mentioned by the 10th-century Georgian author
Giorgi Merchule as a part of Georgian monastic communities operating under the guidance of
Grigol of Khandzta
Gregory of Khandzta (Georgian: გრიგოლ ხანძთელი, ''Grigol Khandzteli''; 759 – 5 October 861) was a Georgian ecclesiastic figure and a founder and leader of numerous monastic communities in Tao-Klarjeti, a historical ...
(759–861) in what then was the Georgian
Bagratid principality of
Klarjeti. The monastery sat on a hill overlooking what is now the village of Ortaköy and consisted of several structures, of which the main church was a
dome
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
d structure faced with smoothly finished small blocks. After the
Ottoman takeover of the area in the 16th century, the church was abandoned. In the 19th century, the remaining edifice was
converted into a mosque and a
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
was added to it. The ruins of a large rectangular refectory have survived to the north of the former church.
Berta manuscripts
The monastery also functioned as a center for literary activities. Two important Georgian manuscripts known as the ''Berta Gospels'' have survived. One, dating from 988, is preserved at the Museum of
Andover Newton Theological School
Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) was a graduate school and seminary in Newton, Massachusetts. Affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ. It was the product of a merger between Andover Theological ...
in the
United States; the other (Q-906) dates from the 12th century and is kept at the
National Center for Manuscripts in
Tbilisi,
Georgia. Its gilded book-cover is attributed to the 12th-century master Beshken of Opiza.
References
External links
*
{{coord missing, Turkey
Georgian Orthodox churches in Turkey
Tao-Klarjeti
Mosques converted from churches in Turkey