Aprank monastery

Aprank or Abrenk, also known as Saint David, is a former Armenian Apostolic monastery near Üçpınar, Tercan in Erzincan Province, eastern Turkey that was abandoned after the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Composed of a lower walled monastery and an upper chapel, the complex lies in a derelict and semi-ruined state.

The monastery is best known for a pair of monumental, nearly 5 meters tall khachkars (cross stones) from the late 12th century. They are regarded as the largest khachkars surviving within Turkey and the tallest in the world. Their replicas were erected near Echmiadzin Cathedral, the center of the Armenian Church, in 2015 in the memory of genocide victims.

The local municipality describes it as "architecturally noteworthy" and a landmark of Erzincan Province despite being largely unknown to tourists.

The monastery is situated at an altitude of around 1,700 m (5,600 ft), on the western slope of Köbek-Dağ, 2 km south of the village of Üçpınar, formerly known as Abrank or Abrenk from the Armenian word aparank, meaning "estate", "mansion", or "palace". It is around 12 to 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Tercan (formerly Mamahatun), midway between Erzincan and Erzurum. Populated...