Historically , the monastery was the religious center of Taron and was a prominent pilgrimage site . It was considered the most important monastery in Turkish ( Western ) Armenia and the second most important of all Armenian monasteries after Etchmiadzin . From the 12th century the monastery was the seat of the diocese of Taron , which had an Armenian population of 90,000 in the early 20th century . It attracted pilgrims on several occasions annually and host large celebrations . The monastery was burned and robbed during the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and later abandoned . Its stones have since been used by the local Kurds for building purposes
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Surb Karapet Monastery