5000 Dram Holy Cross Church

The Holy Cross Church (Surb Khach) on Akdamar Island in Lake Van was built between 915 and 921 AD under the Armenian king Gagik I Artsruni of Vaspurakan. By 1999, the church sat within the borders of Turkey, making this coin's subject quietly pointed — Armenia issuing a commemorative honoring one of the great monuments of medieval Armenian architecture located on territory it does not control. Regular Armenian Apostolic services at the site had been suspended since 1915.