Preserving memory in stone

Cemeteries can be fields of silence and rest, where stones stand as guardians of those who came before us. For Armenians, one of the most distinctive forms of carved stone is the khachkar, or cross-stone. These upright stone monuments are centered on the image of the cross, often surrounded by elaborate patterns of vines, rosettes, interlacing forms, and symbols of life and eternity. Rather than emphasizing suffering, the Armenian khachkar often expresses spiritual life, renewal, and the hope of eternity.

Photographer, author, and publisher David Kara-Mian is an Armenian-American whose long career in engineering, design, and corporate leadership led him to pursue his passion for photography, publishing, and documenting Armenian cultural heritage. A contributing writer to Black & White Photography Magazine, he has dedicated himself to projects that preserve Armenia’s artistic and spiritual legacy. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, artist and art educator Angela Kara-Mian.

Kara-Mian will present his new book, Eternal Armenia: Khatchkars – The CrossStones of Noratus, on Sunday, October 4th at 5 p.m. at the Tekeyan Cultural Association Beshgeturian Center, 1901 N. Allen Avenue in Altadena. This is Kara-Mian’s third book on Armenia, independently published through NorArtGallery Publishing.

The culmination of nearly three years of photography, research, writing, and design, Eternal Armenia is an ambitious photographic and cultural study of the ancient cemetery of Noratus, near Lake Sevan in Armenia. The 264-page, large-format bilingual English-Armenian volume features nearly 200 photographs, including expansive panoramic views of the cemetery, intimate studies of individual khatchkars, carved grave monuments, and the landscape where these centuries-old stones have endured.

Noratus Cemetery, near Lake Sevan, is home to the world’s largest surviving concentration of Armenian khachkars, intricately carved monuments that embody centuries of Armenian Christian faith, artistry, memory, and craftsmanship. Yet despite its extraordinary significance, Noratus remains surprisingly unfamiliar to many people, including within the Armenian diaspora. The stones of Noratus have survived centuries of weather, upheaval, and change—and their survival into the future cannot simply be assumed.

For Kara-Mian, documenting the khachkars and advocating for their preservation has become an important purpose of his photography. Over repeated visits to Noratus, he sought to document not only its most beautiful or historically significant khachkars, but also its weathered stones, graves, inscriptions, details, and broader landscape. For him, this is where photography moves beyond artistic interpretation and becomes documentation.

“Photography cannot physically protect a stone from erosion, destruction, or disappearance,” Kara-Mmian said. “It can, however, preserve a record of what existed at a particular moment. A photograph can travel where the monument cannot. It can enter a library, museum, university, classroom, church, archive, or home. It can introduce Noratus to someone who may never have the opportunity to walk among its stones.”

With Eternal Armenia, Kara-Mian concentrates on a single place and examines it in depth. The photographs celebrate the imagination and craftsmanship of Armenian stone carvers, with crosses emerging from intricate geometries, rosettes, vines, interlacing patterns, and symbols of life and eternity. At the same time, the book records the quieter presence of stones softened by centuries of weather, their inscriptions and carvings slowly surrendering their sharpness to time.

For Kara-Mian, bringing attention to Noratus means taking the work beyond the pages of the book and before Armenian and non-Armenian audiences and into libraries, museums, universities, churches, and cultural organizations. Through presentations, publications, and public conversations, he hopes to draw greater attention to Noratus and to the broader importance of Armenian cultural preservation.

“We have already seen the destruction of Armenian khachkars at Julfa, and most recently the destruction of historic Armenian cemeteries and medieval khachkars in Shushi,” Kara-Mian said. “Noratus still survives. We have a responsibility to protect it while we still can.”

“I hope that Noratus will eventually receive the international recognition it deserves, including serious consideration for UNESCO World Heritage status. Greater recognition can bring greater attention, and that attention is an important step toward long-term preservation.”

The cultural purpose behind Eternal Armenia has received the endorsement of Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America.

“We especially appreciate that the khachkars of Noratus are presented not only as works of art and historical monuments, but also as living witnesses to Armenian identity and Christian faith,” Archbishop Derderian wrote. “Through your work, the reader is invited to understand more deeply the richness of Armenia’s spiritual heritage and the responsibility we bear to preserve it and pass it on to future generations.”

Event details

The Tekeyan Cultural Association (TCA) Metro Los Angeles chapter organized the book presentation. Founded in August 2018, it is the newest Tekeyan chapter and the third in the greater Los Angeles region. It has a comparatively younger demographic and has been energetically organizing activities including comedy nights, concerts, and lectures. The Kara-Mian program will conclude with light refreshments. For more information: Tekeyan Cultural Association: info@tekeyanla.org or David Kara-Mian: davidkaramian@gmail.com.