The annex consists of several interconnected rooms added to the east side of the monastic enclosure wall. It was built sometime in the tenth or eleventh century and underwent several renovations before taking on the form in which it survived to our times. Its function has not been clarified as yet; it may have been a gatehouse for lay visitors to the monastery, at least in the beginning. The wall painting and inscriptions from its latest phase suggest a liturgical function. The Virgin Mary, present in several murals, is the main figure associated with this space.
Interior
