The Kurmentin Cave Complex derives its name from the nearby village of Kurmenti, located on the northeastern edge of the lake. The caves were first discovered by locals in the early 20th century, and serious archaeological investigations began in 2005.
It is believed that this complex is the ruin of a medieval Armenian monastery, referenced on a 14th-century Catalan world map as the “Monastery of the Brothers of Armenia.” According to legend, the remains of the Apostle Matthew are buried here.
Near the monastery, in the vicinity of Kurmenti, are the Royal Mounds. Beneath the ancient mounds lie the remains of the Saka leaders, who successfully resisted the Persians and Greeks under the command of Alexander the Great.
It is possible that the monastery housed or still houses the relics of Saint Matthew. The complex consists of a narrow passage that gradually widens, with small rooms branching off from different sides, resembling monastic cells. Based on current observations, there are about thirty such cells. Archaeologists speculate that there may have been lower levels, which are currently buried under earth.
As known from Sacred Tradition, Saint Matthew the Apostle met a martyr’s death at the hands of pagans for preaching Christ in Syria, where his incorruptible relics were originally kept and venerated. When Emperor Decius (249-251) initiated persecutions against Christianity across the Roman Empire, the faithful, fearing desecration of the holy relics, moved Saint Matthew’s relics to Central Asia – a region known for its religious tolerance. By that time, there were already numerous Christian communities in the area.
The relics of Saint Matthew the Evangelist were kept in an Armenian monastery near Issyk-Kul. The location of this great relic was known throughout the Christian world. On the famous Catalan map, dated 1375, several architectural structures are clearly depicted. One of the largest, a church in the Romanesque basilica style but with a pyramid-like top, is located in the part of the map corresponding to present-day Central Asia. It is shown on the shore of a lake, with elongated outlines reminiscent of Issyk-Kul. The inscription reads: “The place called Issykol. Here is the monastery of the Armenian brothers, where the body of Saint Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist rests.”
This raises many questions: Why do Catholics refer to the Armenians as brothers, even though all non-Chalcedonian Christians were generally labeled as “evil heretics” in medieval Western Europe? Why would an Armenian monastery appear on a Catalan map made in Spain? To answer these questions and gain a clearer understanding of the hypothetical builders of the Kurmentin caves, we must explore the history of relations between Armenians and Catholics.
The friendship between Armenians and Catholics began during the Crusades. Armenians hosted the crusaders, provided them with weapons and supplies by agreement, and even participated in the protection of Christian relics. Since that time, a large Armenian community had settled in Palestine and spread across many other Asian cities. Armenians also appeared in the Semirechye region and near Issyk-Kul, as evidenced by the discovery of small cross-shaped pendants resembling Armenian khachkars and gravestones with inscriptions in Armenian. In the Chui Valley, the grave of an Armenian bishop was even found.
It was also during the 13th century that diplomatic negotiations began with the Vatican for mutual support. For the Armenians, this was a difficult period. The borders of Greater Armenia were barely holding against Turkish and Iranian forces, losing one province after another, and by the end of the medieval period, the threat of complete annihilation loomed over the Armenians. Therefore, part of the Armenian people entered into an agreement with the Vatican and accepted union. The Pope formally became the head of the Armenian-Catholic community. Spanish cartographers referred to them as “Armenian brothers” to distinguish them from those Armenians who did not accept union.
The Issyk-Kul Armenians may have been unionists. This explains the interest of the creators of the Catalan map in their monastery and the relics of the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew kept there. They may well have been the builders of the Kurmentin Cave Complex, the smooth and precise arches of which indicate the skill of highly skilled builders. In this region, surrounded by various peoples following diverse religions, and in the context of the advancing Islam, which began to tighten its missionary policies during the late 13th and early 14th centuries, there was a real need to hide monastic efforts and holy relics, just as it had been in constantly warring Armenia.
Later, the city where the ancient Armenian monastery stood was submerged by the waters of the lake. According to local legend, the flood was God’s punishment for the townspeople’s refusal of hospitality and their offense to a righteous traveler. Two versions of the following events exist: according to the first, the monks who survived the disaster managed to take the monastery’s most precious treasure—the coffin with the relics of Saint Matthew—and buried it somewhere along the shore. According to the second version, the monks took the coffin with Saint Matthew’s relics to present-day Tajikistan and buried it somewhere in the Pamir Mountains.
The geographer P.P. Semenov-Tian-Shansky, who studied the Catalan map, believed that the Armenian monastery was located in the Kurmentin Bay, between the villages of Svetly Mys and Tyup. By God’s will, it was near the submerged shrine that the Russian Holy Trinity Male Monastery was founded in 1882. Baron Alexander Kaulbars, a Russian official who visited the area in the late 19th century, not only heard local legends about the submerged city but also saw its ruins underwater and found fragments of ancient pottery with a cross symbol washed up on the shore. In his travel notes, Kaulbars wrote: “Interestingly, near the Issyk-Kul Trinity Monastery, by the mouths of the Tyup and Koy-Su rivers, the ruins of an ancient city are preserved underwater. In this city, according to scientists’ assumptions, there was an Armenian monastery that housed the relics of the Evangelist Matthew.”
Currently, the monastery is located on private property, and one must make prior arrangements with the landowner to visit.
Coordinates: 42.766191, 78.247851 The Kurmentin Cave Complex
