This spectacular cathedral in the town of Shushi has a history as messy and bloody as the town intend. Built of white marble in the late 19th century it was supposed to be one of the grandest cathedrals in Armenia – a cross-shaped church and a free-standing bell tower in front on the the highest point in a town that was already on a hilltop. In 1920, almost the entire Armenian population of Shushi was killed by Azeri during a pogrom. During the soviet period, it became a granary and then a car garage. After the USSR collapse, Azeri forces occupied Shushi and used the church as a munition storage for the GRAD rockets to rain down on Stepanakert below. After a bloody battle, Armenian forces occupied Shushi and expelled almost all Azeri inhabitants reducing it to a ghost town. The church was then restored and reconsecrated. It looked eerily solemn on a very foggy morning.
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