Georg Holy Church

The holy church of Georg is housed in the village of Haftvan, in the city of Salmas, southeast of the city, in the West Azerbaijan Province. The building dates back to 1652 AD according to what is recorded on a stone piece in the west of the church. Yet, some evidence on the east side of the church indicates the church is even older.
The church is still in use and the Armenian visitors of Salmas and other parts of the country come over to the place.
According to Nazar Guriyans, the Armenian author and researcher, who traveled to the region between 1890 to 1898, the majority of the residents in the village were Armenian until the year 1828 when Turkamanchay treaty was signed and floods of the Armenians poured in. But when some traveled, the residents grew less.
The examinations of its architecture reflect that the church was built in two different periods; the east side is far older than the west. The whole structure is divided into two distinguished east and west parts.
The east side contains the dome of the main building and has rectangular infrastructure with an orientation of East to West. The dome stands firmly on two strong pillars connected to the northern and southern walls in the end of the alter walls. The dome leg offers holes to let the light in.
Inside the fairly big alter which lies on the east 3 arcades with small arches are made and on either side of the alter there are small square rooms.
The west part of the church which was built later on and was linked to the east side is square-shaped with 4 pillars in a square infrastructure. It's ceiling stands on the arches between the pillars and side walls. On the ceiling of the main space of the church there is a small belfry .
The only entrance to the building, which includes external coverings, lies below the belfry and on the west wall of the church. Probably, the east part of the church, built before the west, used to have an entrance on the west side which was destroyed once it was connected to the new entrance. Also a part of the western wall, as wide as the pillars of the building, was demolished and as a result the east and west parts got the same size.
The internal walls of the church are covered in plaster and the external ones are in adobe. On the stones used on the walls writings in Armenian are seen. Also around the church the remains of a theater building from the 19th century AD as well as an old cemetery are located.