REDISCOVERING

ARMENIA

An Archaeological/Touristic
Gazetteer and Map Set for the
Historical Monuments of Armenia

Brady Kiesling
June 2000
Yerevan/Washington DC

This document is aimed at encouraging interest in Armenia; no restriction

is place on duplication of this electronic version for personal use. The
author would appreciate acknowledgment of the source of any substantial
quotations from this work. Please send corrections/suggestions to:
jbradyk@ath.forthnet.gr
 i

Table of Contents
Table of Contents ........................................................ i
Index to Maps ........................................................ iii
Author’s Preface ........................................................ iv
Sources and Methods ..................................................... iv
Timeline .............................................................. vi
Archaeological Etiquette ............................................ vi
Armenian Alphabet and Monument Dating ................................. vi
Note on Transliteration: ........................................... vii
Armenian Terms Useful for Getting Lost With ........................... ix
Bibliography .......................................................... ix
HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA .......................... 1
ARMENIAN MONASTERIES ..................................................... 3
YEREVAN CITY ............................................................. 5
Archaeology ............................................................ 6
The Erivan Fortress .................................................... 7
The City ............................................................... 8
Churches ............................................................... 8
The Museums ........................................................... 10
Suburbs: Avan and Kanaker ............................................ 12
The First American Tourists ........................................... 13
EXPLORING ARAGATSOTN .................................................... 14
South from Ashtarak - Oshakan (Maps A, D) ............................. 14
The South Slopes of Aragats --Amberd (Map A) .......................... 15
Climbing Mt. Aragats (Map A) .......................................... 15
West Around Aragats -- Aghdzk and Aruch (Map A) ....................... 16
North Toward Talin and Mastara (Map B) ................................ 18
Talin Fortress and Kristapori Vank (Map B) ............................ 19
North from Ashtarak -- Hovhannavank to Aparan (Map A) ................. 20
EXPLORING ARARAT ........................................................ 23
West of Yerevan (Maps C, D) ........................................... 24
South from Yerevan (Map C) ............................................ 24
To Ancient Dvin (Map C) ............................................... 25
Khor Virap and Artaxiasata (Map C) .................................... 27
Vedi and Eastward (Map C, inset) ...................................... 29
East from Yeraskh -- S. Karapet Monastery (Map C inset) ............... 30
EXPLORING ARMAVIR ....................................................... 31
Ejmiatsin and Environs (Map D) ........................................ 31
The Northeast Corner -- Aghavnatun and Targmanchats (Map D) ........... 35
Metsamor and Environs (Map D) ......................................... 36
Sardarapat and Ancient Armavir (Map D) ................................ 37
Southwestern Armavir (advance permission required) .................... 39
Southeastern Armavir (Map D) .......................................... 39
North of Armavir City ................................................. 40
West from Armavir ..................................................... 40
EXPLORING GEGHARKUNIK ................................................... 41
Approaching Sevanavank (Maps H, E) .................................... 41
Gavar and the South Sevan Basin (Maps E, F) ........................... 43
East from Martuni -- Teyseba and Vanevan (Map F, G) ................... 46
Former Vardenis Rayon -- Makenyats Vank (Map G) ....................... 47
North from Vardenis (Map G) ........................................... 48
East from Vardenis (Map G) ............................................ 48
The East Side of Sevan -- Chambarak (Map E) ........................... 48
South toward Vardenis (Map E) ......................................... 49
Down (NW) the Getik River -- Old Getik Vank (Map E) ................... 49
EXPLORING KOTAYK ........................................................ 50

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 ii

The Road to Garni and Geghard (Map H) ................................. 50

North along Hrazdan Gorge -- Bjni (Map H) ............................. 54
Tsaghkadzor and the Marmarik Valley (Map H) ........................... 57
Abovian and the Foothills (Map H) ..................................... 58
To the Geghama Mountains (Map H) ...................................... 59
The East Road from Abovian (Map H) .................................... 60
Into Mt. Ara (Map H) .................................................. 60
To Yeghvard and Buzhakan (Map H) ...................................... 61
EXPLORING LORI .......................................................... 62
Spitak and Eastward (Map I) ........................................... 62
North to Stepanavan (Map I, J) ........................................ 63
Along the Gargar River -- Hnevank (Map J) ............................. 63
Along the Dzoraget -- Lori Berd (Map J) ............................... 64
North from Stepanavan (Map J) ......................................... 66
Vanadzor and Eastward (Map I) ......................................... 66
North from Vanadzor on the Debed -- Dsegh, Kober (Map I, J) ........... 67
West of the Debed Gorge -- Odzun (Map J) .............................. 68
Sanahin and Haghpat (Map J) ........................................... 69
West from Spitak (Map I) .............................................. 74
The Zakarian Lords Zakare and Ivane ................................... 74
EXPLORING SHIRAK ........................................................ 74
North to Gyumri -- Horom (Map B) ...................................... 75
East from Maralik -- Artik, Harich (Map B) ............................ 76
Up the Akhuryan -- Yereruyk (Map B) ................................... 78
Gyumri East toward Spitak (Map M) ..................................... 79
West of the Akhuryan River (Map M) .................................... 80
The Northwest Corner -- Marmashen Vank (Map M) ........................ 80
North Toward Akhalkalakh (Map M) ...................................... 81
EXPLORING SYUNIK ........................................................ 82
Entering Syunik -- Angeghakot (Map L) ................................. 84
Sisian and Tanahati Vank (Map L) ...................................... 89
To Dastakert (Map L) .................................................. 93
To Vorotnavank and Beyond (Map L) ..................................... 93
East to Goris -- Kotrats Caravansaray, Khndzoresk (Map L) ............. 95
The Road to Tatev (Map L) ............................................. 97
South to Kapan (Map L) ................................................ 99
East of Kapan (Map M) ................................................ 102
The Shikahogh Reserve (Map M) ........................................ 102
West toward K'ajaran -- Vahanavank (Map L, M) ........................ 102
South to Meghri (Map L) .............................................. 105
EXPLORING TAVUSH ....................................................... 106
Dilijan .............................................................. 107
West of Dilijan -- Jukhtak Vank (Map N) .............................. 107
East From Dilijan -- Haghartsin, Goshavank (Map N) ................... 108
The Shamsadin District -- Khoranashat, Varagavank (Map O) ............ 112
East of Ijevan (Map N) ............................................... 114
North to Noyemberian -- Makaravank, Kirants (Map N) .................. 115
EXPLORING VAYOTS DZOR .................................................. 118
East from Ararat -- Areni, Noravank (Map P) .......................... 119
Selim Caravansaray and the Yeghegis Monasteries (Map P) .............. 121
Shatin and Eastward -- Tsakhatskar, Smbataberd (Map P) ............... 123
Yeghegnadzor and Environs -- Tanahat, Boloraberd (Map P) ............. 125
Moving East to Vayk (Map P) .......................................... 127
Southern Vayots Dzor (Map P) ......................................... 127
Jermuk and Eastward -- Gndevank (Map P) .............................. 128
The Orbelian Princes ................................................. 128

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 iii

Index to Maps

Note on maps: This map is an index to sixteen sectional topographic maps

at approximately 1:220,000 scale, prepared in Adobe PhotoDeluxe 2.0 and
designed each to print out on a letter-sized sheet. Versions of these are
available on-line at www.arminco.com/embusa. I have updated the maps by
hand to show the location of the more important monuments listed in the
guide. There is now available in Yerevan a useful bilingual road atlas of
Armenia, showing most roads and tracks, but without topographic data and
with some misleading indications on the precise location of monuments. I
urge visitors to Armenia to buy it, as an encouragement to its well-
intentioned publisher (Noyan Tapan, 1999, author G. Beglarian), despite the
potentially dangerous liberties they takes with international borders and
place names.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 iv

Author’s Preface
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Armenia has fallen
off the tourist map. Ethnic Armenians from the diaspora make their brief
pilgrimage to the religious capital Ejmiatsin, see Garni, Geghard and Khor
Virap, pass a few wind-swept days by Lake Sevan, and possibly make the
journey to Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh or the Gyumri-Spitak earthquake zone to
see where their donations have gone. The scenery of the Ararat valley and
its rocky edges can seem bleak and alien. They leave Armenia, often, with
memories of faulty plumbing interspersed with random monumentality.
But there is another Armenia, a subtly green, richly textured landscape,
every corner of which has been sculpted by millennia of human triumphs and
tragedies. There is a gifted and generous population, now mostly cut off
from outside stimuli but still desperately eager to demonstrate to foreign
visitors its traditional hospitality and pride at its survival. There is
nature, exotic, sometimes heart-rendingly beautiful, now mostly unvisited
but far from inaccessible. And of course there is the basic human truth,
that enjoyment of a place or activity is directly dependent on the
investment made. Armenia is still difficult to explore unaided, but the
rewards of doing so are commensurately great.
This guide was designed for several purposes, but its central goal is
simply to exist, as a first taste of Armenia in English for enthusiasts
willing to invest some attention in this country during a difficult
transition period. I believe that tourism development will play an
important role in Armenia’s economic rebirth, a rebirth many brave souls
are helping to achieve. Second goal is to empower independent travel, not
dependent on a paid guide or interpreter, to allow curious visitors to
navigate the often unsignposted hinterland. A third goal is to encourage
interest in Armenia’s antiquities by English-speaking scholars. A fourth,
expressed through the choice of material, is to preserve some record of the
wrenching demographic changes that have taken place since 1988, to preserve
some traces of a once multi-ethnic landscape. A final goal is to repay
through some hope of future economic development the dozens of ordinary
Armenians, scattered across the landscape, who opened their homes, larders
and hearts to a disheveled traveler on foot, bicycle or battered station
wagon, speaking mangled Armenian and looking for monasteries.
As the after-hours work of an enthusiast who has visited many but far from
all the sites mentioned, this guide is not a complete archaeological,
historical, cultural and/or practical guidebook to Armenia. It is only as
accurate as its sources, some of which are vague or contradictory. I hope
that other guidebook compilers, and several are reportedly at work, will
draw upon the information contained herein, with the goal of opening up
Armenia to the broadest possible range of tourism, study, and adventure.
Sources and Methods
Sources of information: This differs from other works on Armenia in that
its subject is the fixed territory of the Republic of Armenia, rather than
on the dispersed monuments of the Armenian people. Original starting point
for this work was the official list of communities and number of registered
voters published in electronic form by the Armenian Central Election
Commission (funded by IFES and USAID) following the 1998 Presidential
elections (major population shifts have occurred in Armenia since the last
Soviet census in 1989, published results of which were in any case was not
conveniently to hand). These place names, which have changed in a series
of waves since 1921, most recently after the mutual ethnic cleansing of
1988-90, were compared against Soviet General Staff maps (1978) and more
recent maps of Armenia, and the names were then looked up in the Soviet

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 v

Armenian Encyclopedia or, in a more sophisticated stage, the four existing

(out of five planned) volumes of the Dictionary of Armenian Place Names.
This latter work contains a huge amount of information and is an invaluable
reference. Many inscription translations were derived from Khachatrian’s
French version. It seemed important to include as many translated
inscriptions as I had strength for: in most cases the donors of a church
ask to be remembered in our prayers, and it would seem churlish to refuse.
This research was sometimes followed, sometimes preceded, by long drives in
the countryside, sometimes alone, sometimes in the company of patient
friends and colleagues. The results are erratic and incomplete of course,
despite friendly contributions by many wonderful people (See below). As a
work in progress, in flexible electronic form, it will, I hope, continue to
expand and evolve through the contributions of all those interested in the
land of Armenia.
Two asterisks after a place name (**) signal a place that struck me as
unforgettable. One asterisk (*) signals a place worth a detour. Absence
of stars may simply mean that I haven’t been there properly and should in
no case be a deterrent to exploration.
People: Thanks to Dr. Aram Kalantarian, Director of the Institute of
Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences, and to
Boris Gasparian of the same Institute, who shared their time and expertise.
Boris spent sleepless nights making the archaeological component more
detailed and rigorous than it would have been. Thanks to the State
Administration for Protection of Historic and Cultural Monuments, whose
Director, Dr. Gurjian, and Mrs. Melania Dovlatian, chief of Vayots Dzor
region, offered encouragement and hospitality. Some marz and local
officials have provided information, and throughout Armenia we have
benefited from the hospitality and generosity of dozens of local citizens
and informal guides. Especial thanks to my U.S. Embassy companions along
the way, particularly to Political Assistant Alla Bakunts and Economic
Officer Jeff Horwitz, whose (respectively) patience and Niva I abused on
many adventures. Dr. Levon Avdoyan of the Library of Congress was the
finder of many obscure publications. I am much indebted from afar to
Professor George Bournoutian, whose published works have recently made
available a treasure of documentation on Armenia in the 19th century. I
take cheerful responsibility for all mistakes of fact or interpretation.
My views are not those of my employer, the U.S. State Department.
Brady Kiesling

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 vi

Timeline
The sequence of historical periods I use for Armenia is inconsistent but
roughly as follows, with precise dating still subject to scholarly debate:
Prehistoric:
Paleolithic 2,000,000 – 12,000 BC (open-air workshops, cave sites,
Mesolithic 12,000 - 8000 BC with stone, bone tools)
Neolithic 8000 - 6000 BC (early agriculture sites)
Chalcolithic 6000 – 3500 BC (first copper implements)
Early Bronze Age 3500 – 2000 BC (black burnished pottery)
Middle Bronze Age 2000 – 1500 BC (red-burnished painted pottery)
Late Bronze Age 1500 – 1200 BC (Cyclopean fortresses)
Early Iron Age 1200 - 850 BC (first iron implements)
Historic:
Urartian/Van Kingdom 800 - 585 BC (links to Assyrian culture)
Early Armenian Kingdom 585 - 330 BC (Median/Achaemenid influence)
Hellenistic/Orontid 330 - 201 BC
Artashesid 189 BC – 1st c. AD
Arsacid 66 – 428 AD (also Roman, Parthian, Sasanian)
Early Christian 4th – 6th c.
Medieval 7th – 16th c. (Arab, Seljuk, Mongol, Turkmen)
Persian 17th – 18th c.
Russian Imperial 19th c. – 1917
First Republic 1918 - 1921
2nd Soviet Republic 1921 - 1991
3rd, Independent, Republic 1991 -
Archaeological Etiquette
It is illegal in Armenia, as in most other places, to export cultural
patrimony without a license, obtained from a special commission of the
Ministry of Culture. In almost no case will export of antiquities be
licensed. Many ancient sites in Armenia are still strewn with potsherds,
obsidian tools (“Satan’s fingernails” in colloquial Armenian) and other
small finds. With next to no commercial value in any case, wrenched from
their context they lose their scientific value as well. These should be
picked up, fondled, photographed, and replaced, both as a courtesy to
future tourists and scholars and to avoid expensive embarrassment at the
border. May apes void on the ancestral sepulchres of any reader of this
work who defaces Armenia’s battered but beautiful patrimony with graffiti
or trash.
Armenian Alphabet and Monument Dating
Knowledge of the Armenian alphabet is useful but not essential for
appreciation of Armenia's cultural patrimony. However, one sure way to
impress on-lookers, including local worthies, is by deciphering the date on
medieval inscriptions. Dates are generally marked by the letters Âì or the
like, often with a line over, indicating "t'vin" ("in the year") followed
by one to four letters, each of which stands for a number based on its
order in the alphabet. In the Middle Ages, Armenians used a calendar that
started in AD 552 as the beginning of the Armenian era. To translate into
standard years, simply add 551 to the number. Thus, should you see an
inscription reading Âì àж , simply check the alphabet table below and see
that this equals 600+70+3+551= the year of Our Lord 1224.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 vii

Upper Lower Number Roman Upper Lower Number Roman

Case Case Value alphabet Case Case Value alphabet
² ³ 1 a Ö × 100 ch
´ µ 2 b Ø Ù 200 m
¶ · 3 g Ú Û 300 y
¸ ¹ 4 d Ü Ý 400 n
º » 5 ye, e Þ ß 500 sh
¼ ½ 6 z à á 600 o, vo
¾ ¿ 7 e â ã 700 ch'
À Á 8 schwa ä å 800 p
 à 9 t' æ ç 900 j
Ä Ä 10 zh è é 1000 rr
Æ Ç 20 i ê ë 2000 s
È É 30 l ì í 3000 v
Ê Ë 40 kh î ï 4000 t
Ì Í 50 ts ð ñ 5000 r
Î Ï 60 k ò ó 6000 ts'
Ð Ñ 70 h àõ áõ 7000 u
Ò Ó 80 dz ö ÷ 8000 p'
Ô Õ 90 gh ø ù 9000 k'
¨ yev, ev
ú û o
ü ý f

Note on Transliteration:
The Latin alphabet is poorly adapted to exact rendering of Armenian names.
Basic approach in this guide is generally phonetic, to produce a rough
approximation of the standard pronunciation of Eastern Armenian. Word
stresses tend to be more evenly distributed than in English, but with the
greatest stress almost always on the final syllable. Note that GH is
pronounced like a French "r", voiced from the back of the mouth. KH is a
raspy, unvoiced consonant like the German ch in "Ach." The CH combination
is used for two distinct letters, one the CH in "church", the other
somewhere between "church" and "jug". Few American ears can tell the
difference in real time between these three Armenian consonants, nor
between aspirated and unaspirated K/K’, P/P’, and TS/TS’. Armenian does not
usually write out the short, colorless vowel "schwa" like the vowel sound
of the second syllable in "trouble." When you see a series of impossible
consonants together, you should add that short vowel in between, e.g.,
Mkhchian is pronounced more like "mUHkh-chyAHn, except the first syllable
is shorter than American "Uh..."
The difference between Eastern and Western Armenian is a potential
minefield: G and K often flip-flop, as do D and T and P and B. There are
various other differences, including a different conjugation system, and
other mostly minor differences in vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

A lot of old place names are Turkish, but Turkish with a local
(Azerbaijani) dialectal pronunciation. Turkish "k" tends to turn into
Armenian "gh." Turkish also has the same short, colorless vowel as

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 viii

Armenian, depicted with an undotted "i" in Turkish but omitted in Armenian.

Thus, Turkish "Kara" (Black) becomes Ghara, and "Kizil" (Red) becomes Ghzl
in Turkish transliterated into Armenian transliterated into English.
Apologies for the consequent difficulties in figuring out what is where and
how to pronounce it.

Armenian Terms Useful for Getting Lost With

Features Ayntegh There

Dzor Gorge
Hovit Valley Descriptions
Sar Mountain Verin Upper
Blur Hill Nerkin Lower
Lanj Slope, hillside Mets Big
Kar Stone Pokr Small
Karandzav Cave Hin Old
Lernanstsk Pass Nor New
Aghbyur Spring Vat Bad
Get River Lav Good
Ap Riverbank Layn Wide
Antar Forest Negh Narrow
Tsar Tree Hart Smooth
Dasht Field Geghetsik Beautiful
Vank Monastery Tgegh Ugly
Yekeghetsi Church Surp Sacred/Saint
Jam Church
Gavit/Jamatun Narthex of church Commands
Matur Shrine/chapel Tekvek Turn
Khachkar Carved stone cross Nayek Look
Gerezman Tomb Yekek Come
Gerezmanatun Cemetery Nstek Sit
Dambaran Tumulus burial Gnank Let’s go
Amrots Fort Ari im tun surch khmenk
Berd Castle Come to my house for coffee
Caravanatun Caravansaray
Chanaparh Road Questions
Khachmeruk Intersection Ur e tanum ays chanaparh
Kamurch Bridge Where does this road go?
Gyugh Village Vonts gnam vanke
Kaghak City How do I go to the monastery?
Tun House
Shenk Building
Ardzanagrutyun Inscription

Directions
Hyusis North
Haraf South
Arevilk East
Arevmutk West
Straight Ughigh
Right Ach
Left Dzakh
Verev Up
Nerkev Down
Ayn Korm Beyond
Aystegh Here

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 ix

Bibliography
Following were sources available to me at the time of preparing this work.
Obviously, a scientific bibliography would be much longer, in various
languages:
Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia, Yerevan, 1974-1986.
Divan Hay Vimagrutyan (Corpus of Armenian Inscriptions), vols 2-6; Yerevan
Bedrosian, Dr. Robert; web site http://www.virtualscape.com/rbedrosian/hsrces.html contains
his English translations of several important Armenian historians, including Kirakos
Gandzaketsi quoted in this work.
Bournoutian, George A., The Khanate of Erevan Under Qajar Rule 1795-1828; California: Mazda
Publishers, 1992.
Bournoutian, George A., Russians and the Armenians of Transcaucasia 1797-1889; a Documentary
Record; California: Mazda Publishers, 1998.
Donabedian, Patrick and Thierry, Jean Michel, Les Arts Armeniens; Paris: Editions Mazenod,
1987.
Ghafadarian, Karo, Dvin: Kaghake yev nra Perumnere(Dvin: The City and its Excavations),
Armenian Academy of Sciences, Yerevan 1982.
Ghafadarian, Karo, Yerevan: Mijnadaryan Hushardzannere (Yerevan: Medieval Monuments),
Armenian Academy of Sciences, Yerevan 1975.
Hakobian, Hakob, Armaviri Marz; Armavir: 1998.
Hakobian, T.Kh. et al. editors, Hayastani yev Harakits Srjanneri Teghanunneri Bararan
(Dictionary of Placenames of Armenia and Adjoining Regions), vols 1-4; Yerevan University
Press, 1988-98.
Harutyunian, Varazdat; Haykakan Chartarapetutyan Patmutyun (History of Armenian Architecture),
Luys 1992.
Hasratian, M., The Monuments of Meghri Region (in Armenian), Yerevan 1987.
Hewsen, Robert, "The Meliks of Eastern Armenia," in Revue des Etudes Armeniennes, (1972-
1980).
Hovannisian, Richard ed., The Armenian People: From Ancient to Modern Times, St. Martin’s
Press 1997.
Khachatrian, Armen, Inscriptions et Histoire des Eglises Armeniennes; Ricerca sull’
Architettura Armena vol 8, Yerevan/Milan, n.d.
Khachatrian, A.A., Corpus of Arabic Inscriptions in Armenia, (in Russian), Armenian Academy of
Sciences, 1987.

Kirakosian, G.E.; Hayastan∋ Lank-Tamuri ev Turkmen Tsegheri Arshavnkneri Shrjanum (Armenia in

the Period of the Invasions of Timur Lenk and the Turkmen Tribes), Gitutyun, 1997.
Mahe, J.-P., Moise de Khorene et les Inscriptions grecques d’Armawir, Topos vol 4, 1994.
Martirosian, A.A., Armenia in the Bronze and Early Iron Age (in Russian), Yerevan 1964.
Mikayelian, G.H., The Cyclopean Forts of Sevan Basin, (in Armenian),Yerevan 1968.
Orbelian, Stepanos, Syuniki Patmutyun, annotated translation, A.A. Abrahamian; Yerevan, 1986.
Santrot, Jacques, ed.; Armenie – Tresors de L’Armenie ancienne, Somogy Editions d’Art, Paris,
1996. (good brief articles in French on a wide range of topics.)
Sardarian, S.H., Primitive Society in Armenia (in Armenian), Yerevan 1967.
Yesayan, S.A., The Old Culture of the Tribes of Northeastern Armenia (in Russian), Yerevan
1976.
Yesayan, S.A., Archaeology of Armenia (in Armenian), Yerevan 1992.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 1

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

This work is confined to the territory of the independent Republic of

Armenia in 1999, and is driven in its subject matter by the surviving
historical monuments on which the narrative -- when there is one -- hangs.
As a country of regular earthquakes, periodic invasions, and severe
winters, Armenia does not lend itself to the preservation of ephemeral
structures. Until this century, most architecture was in unfired brick, on
a foundation of mortared stone. Practically nothing of that has survived
the rain or the ferocity of Soviet urban planners, leaving the impression
that modern Armenia sprang from an unpopulated wilderness of half-collapsed
stone churches. This impression leaves out a great deal.

The borders of the Republic are those set by Soviet authorities in 1921,
with minor subsequent adjustments in the late 1920s. This work does not
include Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh or other territories inside the
internationally recognized state borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Nor does it address the much larger areas that at various times in various
political contexts have been considered part of historical Armenia. For a
late Roman, this book is confined to Eastern Persarmenia, for a 6th century
Armenian the provinces of Ayrarat, Syunik, and Gugark.

In the 18th century under the Qajar rulers of Persia, the core of Armenia
(Yerevan city and the modern marzes of Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Kotayk,
and western Gegharkunik) fell within the Khanate of Erevan. The Northeast
(now Tavush marz) belonged to the Khanate of Ganja, though claimed by the
Kingdom of Georgia as well. The North (now Shirak and Lori marzes) were
part of the Kingdom of Georgia. South-central Armenia (Vayots Dzor marz)
was in the Khanate of Nakhichevan, and the far South (Syunik marz) belonged
to the Khanate of Karabagh. The phased Russian conquest, from the 1801
annexation of Georgia to the fall of the Erivan fortress in 1827, kept
Armenia split among the Gubernias of Tiflis (Tbilisi), Erivan (Yerevan),
and (later) Yelizavetpol (Ganja). The borders of the modern Republic of
Armenia were drawn under intense military and political pressure in 1919-
21, satisfying no one, but put into Armenia most of Erivan gubernia -- but
without Nakhichevan or the uezd of Surmalu (west of the Arax River) -- plus
the west half of Zangezur and Kazakh uezds of Yelizavetpol, the southern
part of Borchalu uezd of Tiflis gubernia, and a small piece of the former
Kars oblast around the Arpa reservoir in NW Shirak.

Before discussing historic populations, it is important to note that the

murderous figment called the "nation-state" did not reach Armenia until the
mid-19th century (and then from Armenians in Europe or as an unintended
lesson of American Protestant missionaries in the Ottoman Empire -- Russian
censors and police tried to stamp out the idea on the Czar's territory).
Through waves of invasion, Armenians kept a private language and private
religion while adapting to and sometimes flourishing under successive
foreign empires. In particular, Eastern Armenia in its culture and history
is heavily dependent on Persia. The Armenian language, though an
independent branch of the Indo-European family, borrowed much of its
vocabulary from Persian. The ancient Armenian calendar derived from
Persian, as did the Armenian royal house.
Seldom before 1880 did Armenians rally around a national identity, 20th
century efforts to reinterpret Armenian history in nationalist terms
notwithstanding. Instead, each region or village, each feudal family,
reached what accommodation it could with the conquerors, sometimes taking
arms alongside a Muslim overlord against Christian neighbors. And by the

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 2

17th century (and particularly after the forcible transfer of much of the
useful population to New Julfa near Isfahan by Shah Abbas in 1604),
Armenian-speaking Christians had become a minority across their historic
territory, pushed back into the foothills and deep stream valleys,
coexisting under their native gentry, the meliks and bishops, with
Persianized Azerbaijani Turks (known to Russian imperialists as Tatars) and
various semi-nomadic Turkic or Kurdish tribes.
It was Armenia's embrace of Orthodox Russia in the early 19th century that
turned the tide. According to Russian official figures cited by George
Bournoutian, Armenian Christians represented only some 20 percent of the
population of the Khanate of Erevan when the Russians took over in 1828.
The proportion of Armenians swelled to 50 percent by 1832, as tens of
thousands of Armenians -- not only recent refugees but also long-settled
Persian or Ottoman citizens -- flocked at Russian urging into lands left
empty by Muslims fleeing to Persia. Many of the villages listed in this
gazetteer date their current population to this period, and bore -- until a
series of wholesale renamings in the 1930s, 1940s, 1960s, or 1980s --
Turkish names. Over the next 90 years, each successive Russian adventure
into Ottoman lands prompted Ottoman Armenians to link their fate to
Russia’s, and each successive Russian retreat brought the Armenian province
new waves of Armenian refugees. Shortly after 1900, Armenians became a
majority even in the city of Yerevan itself.
Bloody clashes between Armenians and Azeris in 1905-6 resulted in small-
scale ethnic cleansing on both sides. In 1915-21, this process
intensified, as Armenia and Azerbaijan fought over Karabakh and Zangezur.
The population make-up of the Arax River valley changed as Armenia
struggled to find land for the starving survivors of the massacres in
Eastern Anatolia while under threat of complete extinction at the hands of
Turkey. Sovietization stabilized the situation. As Soviet Armenia
industrialized, the outflow of Armenian migrants to Baku and Tbilisi
decreased; indeed, Armenia began to attract Armenians from Iran and
elsewhere in the diaspora, and from Nakhichevan. To make room for them (or
to respond to Turkey’s wrong choice of Cold War allies), Stalin decreed in
December 1947 the resettlement of 100,000 Azerbaijani Turks from Armenia to
the barren Kura-Arax lowlands of Azerbaijan.
The upsurge of nationalist sentiment in the Soviet Republics in 1988 was a
key component in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev
appealed vainly for Socialist fraternity in the Caucasus, and then sent in
troops. These failed to halt, and in some cases perhaps even encouraged,
the atrocities that over the period 1988-92 drove out hundreds of thousands
of residents and turned Armenia and Azerbaijan into largely monoethnic
states.
The Russian Empire was a mixed blessing to the Armenian people. On the one
hand, Russia provided security from war and kept brigandage at a low level.
On the other hand, Russia was ineffective in encouraging economic
development in the Yerevan gubernia, favoring Tbilisi and Baku. The camel
caravans to Persia and the Far East took other routes. Russian tax
collectors were no less rigorous than the Khan's had been, and the rights
of the nobility were strengthened vis-a-vis their peasants. As heterodox
Christians, Armenians were only slightly higher than Muslims on the
Imperial social scale. The Armenian church was exploited and manipulated,
its properties taxed and gradually confiscated, its schools kept under
close control. Armenia's gentry had great difficulty in establishing its
noble status (including tax exemptions) in Russian eyes. Armenian refugees
who resettled abandoned "Tatar" villages learned with chagrin that Russia

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 3

would respect the property rights of Muslim begs who returned from exile in
Persia.
On his way to Tehran in 1859 to take up his position as HM Minister to the
Persian Court, that model Major General and great Orientalist Sir Henry
Rawlinson passed through Tbilisi and Tabriz and reported back to the
Secretary of State for India on the massive Russian military presence in
the Caucasus and whether it posed any threat to British interests in India.
Treated with suspicion by his Russian hosts, Rawlinson still managed to
glean that Russia was losing money in the Caucasus, with no prospect of
ever breaking even. General Koliubakin, the vice governor, admitted that
he would favor abandoning the Caucasus entirely, were it not for the risk
of a military revolution. Rawlinson reported that:
"The Armenian population of Erivan and Nakhshevan, although
numerically unimportant, deserves a brief notice. Russia, although
paying much attention to the Armenians when they were first ceded to
her by the treaty of Turcomanchai, now takes little pains to
conciliate this class. They complain of oppression. A considerable
part of the church property has been sequestered, and when I visited
Etchmiadzin, the seat of the Patriarch of the whole Armenian church,
I could detect in his conversation many signs of discontent and
disappointment. The Armenians know, however, that they would be
worse treated if they migrated to Persia or Turkey, and they thus
remain obedient, if not really loyal subjects of the Russian
Government."
Colonel Herbert Chermside, visiting Transcaucasia in 1888, offered a more
racist and acerbic view of Russian-Armenian relations: "The dislike of
Armenians by Russians, and their attitude toward them socially, seems
natural enough to a European acquainted at all intimately with Armenian
characteristics, and are very analogous to the feelings and attitudes of
Englishmen towards various native races."
Come the Revolution, however, the antipathy of the average Russian
aristocrat was more than repaid by the warmth of relations between Russian
communists and their Armenian brethren. Armenian intellectuals, long
denied social standing by a reactionary Russia, embraced Marxism more
rapidly and effectively than any other of Russia's subject populations, and
they were duly rewarded when Lenin came to power. From being a poor,
backward province, Armenia found itself by the end of the Soviet Union a
substantial high-tech industrial power, prosperous far out of proportion to
Armenia's natural resources or geostrategic situation. This is not to say
that Armenians were devout Communists -- far from it. Rather, they adopted
comfortably the outward forms and rituals of the Soviet Empire, as many
Armenians had those of the Mongol Empire before it.

ARMENIAN MONASTERIES
“O fathers, had you built fortresses instead of the monasteries with
which are country is full ... our country would have been more
fortunate than she is today.” (Raffi)
Though Armenians in fact built plenty of fortresses, monasteries (vank,
plural vanker) are clearly the most distinctive feature of the Armenian
landscape. Situated, as most are, deep in river gorges or in wooded glens,
they are, apart from intrinsic architectural or historical interest,
typically in lovely destinations well worth the trouble of finding. Many
were fortified; most have inscriptions or carved tombstones. Some once
housed schools, libraries, and scriptoria, producing the manuscripts that
kept Armenian culture alive through many dark centuries.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 4

Besides piety and the usual number of sins to expiate, one reason for the
huge number of monasteries derives from the precarious nature of land
tenure. Neither Turks, Mongols nor Persians endorsed the concept of
freehold real property, almost all of which in theory belonged to the
Sultan/Khan/Shah to bestow in return for (usually) military services.
Though Armenian lords participated in this system, as infidels their
ability to pass land down to their descendants was more than usually
insecure. However, the tax-exempt ownership of land by religious
foundations (Arabic waqf), whether Muslim or Christian, was usually
respected, even by new conquerors. Since those religious foundations could
be and generally were run by a self-appointing, self-renewing board, and
since the Armenian priesthood was largely hereditary, a noble family could,
with a little help from key officials, donate land to a family-run waqf
under a family-member bishop and thereby control it and its revenues. Many
of the inscriptions decorating monastery walls record the donation of
gardens or whole villages to the monastery. The peasants tended to convey
along with the land.
The Mother Church at Ejmiatsin was by the end of the Persian period the
largest Christian landowner in Armenia. In the drier foothills and isolated
stream valleys, a small number of Armenian noble families, the meliks,
defended their hereditary control of villages or small districts. The
richer irrigated land of the Arax river valley had mostly long ago been
commandeered by successive Arab, Turkic and Persian lords. The revenue
from the relatively fertile Church lands near Ejmiatsin was a permanent
source of inspiration to foreign rulers and the clergy alike; years of its
income were sometimes mortgaged to pay the requisite bribes to the
functionaries of the Shah, Sultan, or both to be recognized as rightful
head of the church. The monastic system survived under Islamic overlords.
Katholikos Abraham of Crete, in a memoir written in the 1730s, described
his travels from functioning monastery to functioning monastery, and
received deference and lavish gifts from the Shah. In the late 17th
century the Khanate of Erivan had 23 men's monasteries and five women's,
but by 1830 had only 10 functioning, all for men.
Even before the Russian Empire annexed the Khanate of Erevan in 1828, it
had begun to assume a tutelary role over the Armenian Apostolic Church,
pulling strings to assure the election of katholikoi who would mobilize the
Armenian people in support of Russia's territorial aspirations in Anatolia
and Persia. Persian and Ottoman authorities took a dim view, diverting
much of the flow of funds from the Armenian diaspora. The Church was
demoralized, short of qualified leaders, and deep in debt by the time
Ejmiatsin became part of the Russian Empire. Having failed to put the
finances and administration of the Church on a rational footing through a
series of heavy-handed reforms, the Russian authorities ultimately
confiscated most monastery property. By the time of Sovietization, most
monasteries had been ruined by earthquakes or were occupied by only one or
two monks.
Seventy years of Soviet atheism nearly completed the destruction. The
monks were evicted or deported and the tattered remnants of monastic
libraries shifted to Ejmiatsin and then to the Matenadaran, the great
manuscript repository in Yerevan. Apart from a handful of internationally
known tourist sites such as Geghard, most village churches were transformed
into storage sheds and padlocked, while some in Yerevan were destroyed in
the name of urban redevelopment. The priesthood shrank in numbers, and
religious education withered almost completely. Though the late Katholikos
Vazgen I is revered (his picture, like that of a saint, still posted in
most churches) for keeping Armenian Christianity alive at all during four

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 5

difficult decades, there was in 1999 no longer any organized monastic

community in the Republic of Armenia, apart from Holy Ejmiatsin itself.
Fewer than 300 churches, all small by Western standards and mostly
decrepit, and a similar number of priests, serve a population of 3,000,000,
and few of those churches are crowded. However, the influx of money and
energy inspired by the (official) 1700th anniversary of Armenian
Christianity has led to massive programs of church reconstruction and some
efforts to revive Armenian monasticism as a core element of Armenia's
distinctive form of Christianity. Seminaries have been reopened, with a
goodly number of new students, and a few wealthy Armenians are
building/rebuilding churches, though the resources allocated to parish
priests for ordinary pastoral work remain negligible.

YEREVAN CITY

Armenia was for most of its history a rural society, with few cities of its
own. The modern city of Yerevan was built on tragedy and dreams. Little
more than a garrison town of mud-brick and gardens before its first brief
experience as capital of an independent Armenia in 1918, the city burgeoned
under Soviet rule. The flood of refugees from the 1915 holocaust and its
aftermath fueled an uneasy but productive alliance between Armenian
nationalism and Soviet hopes of spreading the Communist gospel through the
Armenian diaspora. Modern Yerevan was built, deliberately, to be the
universal center and pole of attraction for the diaspora, with an
educational and cultural infrastructure far out of proportion to the size
or intrinsic wealth of Soviet Armenia.
In 1988, when the collapse of the Soviet Union became visible, Yerevan was
a full-fledged, booming Soviet city of (officially) 1 million people. A
gracious street plan of parks, ring-roads, and tree-lined avenues had been
laid out by the architect Alexander Tamanian and his successors in the
1920s and 1930s for a population they dreamed might reach 200,000. That
goal long surpassed, the process of expansion to reach the magic million-
person threshold that qualified Yerevan for a metro and the other
perquisites of a city of all-Union importance involved Armenia's successive
First Secretaries in sordid expedients and half-finished, earthquake-
vulnerable construction projects in sprawled, depressing suburbs.
The success of the 1988 independence movement dealt the city a series of
major shocks, first with the forced emigration of a centuries-old Muslim
(mostly Azerbaijani Turkish) population, and its replacement by newly
impoverished refugees from Baku. The disastrous collapse of the Soviet
economic system (Armenia made high-tech pieces of everything, but produced
all of practically nothing) triggered the economic migration of hundreds of
thousands of impoverished Armenians bound for the bright lights of Moscow
or Glendale. A badly-needed census has been postponed till 2001, partly
for lack of funds, partly for fear of demoralizing those who are left.
The city of Yerevan preserves little of its early history in a form of
interest to casual visitors. Behind the anonymous Soviet facades, however,
a rich and complex life took place and still does, in the "bak" or
courtyard or in private apartments far better furnished -- with books,
musical instruments, art, and hospitality -- than 70 years of official
culture or a decade of grim poverty would suggest. There are thousands of
Yerevantsis who know, love, and can present their city far better than I,
so this chapter is designed for those with no opportunity to seek one out,
and with apologies for its sketchiness.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 6

Archaeology
Yerevan is a very ancient place. Caves in the walls of the Hrazdan river
gorge, particularly near the modern Yeravanian Lake, show traces of Stone
Age habitation. The substantial Chalcolithic (transitional from stone to
metal-using) settlement of Shengavit, scientifically of great importance
for the prehistory of the whole region, is perched on the slope on the far
side of the lake (from the airport road, take the road SE across the dam,
then turn left). There you will find the crumbling circular foundations of
a number of rubble and mud-brick houses, once surrounded by a stone
fortification wall and with an underground passage leading to the river.
Four settlement phases have been identified, from the end of the 4th
millennium B.C. to the beginning of the second millennium B.C.
The Urartian kingdom centered on Lake Van in Eastern Turkey gave Yerevan
its first major impetus. The Urartians built the citadel of Erebuni, on
the hill of that name in SE Yerevan. (Take Tigran Mets Blvd from Republic
Square, then turn left following the trolley tracks on the major street
about half a km past the train station). A substantial museum at the base
of the hill formerly known as Arin Berd houses many of the finds, including
a few examples of Urartu's splendid metalwork. The citadel itself was
founded by Argishti I son of Menua, King of Urartu in the year 782, the
first Urartian conquest on the East side of the Arax. We know this from a
cuneiform inscription discovered built into the fortification wall by the
gate, an inscription which reads roughly as follows: "By the greatness of
the god Khaldi, Argishti son of Menua built this great fortress, named it
Erebuni, to the power of Biainili and the terror of its enemies. Argishti
says: the land was waste, I undertook here great works..." Armenian
scientists argue that one can derive the name Yerevan from Erebuni by a
series of simple phonological shifts, suggesting that modern Yerevan is the
lineal descendant of this 8th c. B.C. citadel. In 1998, the Mayor of
Yerevan arranged a festivity marking the 2780th birthday of Yerevan. A
good time was had by all.
The site has been heavily restored, not always well, and those restorations
badly need their own restoration, making it difficult to separate original
Urartian walls from Achaemenid Persian remodeling. In any case, enough
survives to convey that this was a large, complex center, with shrines,
palatial rooms with elaborately frescoed walls, and major storage
facilities. A number of smaller cuneiform inscriptions on basalt building
stones attest to a "susi," apparently an Urartian temple.
About a century after Erebuni was built, in the first year of Urartian King
Rusa II, the inhabitants of Erebuni seem to have relocated to a citadel
they called Teishebai URU (City of the God Teisheba), the site now known as
Karmir Blur ("Red Hill"). This site overlooks the Hrazdan river from a
bluff downstream from Shengavit (from the airport road, cross the dam, turn
right on Aragats Ave., then right again about 1 km down, and go to the
end). The site takes its name from the huge pile of decomposed red mud-
brick, some of which still sits atop the impressive stone foundations of
the city wall.
Yerevan's history fades away after Karmir Blur in terms of things to look
at, with the early Armenian kings and Roman and Persian conquerors
preferring Artaxiasata to the south and Vagharshapat/Ejmiatsin to the
north. The horrific earthquake of 1679 completed the destruction done by
passing Arab, Mongol, Persian, and Ottoman armies over the centuries.
Still, bits and pieces remain for the patient explorer.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 7

The Erivan Fortress

Reconstituted in the 17th century as a Persian city-fortress guarding the
marches with the Ottoman Empire, Yerevan was a key military/strategic point
at the intersection of three empires. At the beginning of the 19th century,
first the French and later the British sent military experts to prop up
Persia against Russian aggression. Drawing on their expertise, the last
Khan of Yerevan made his headquarters the strongest and most modern
fortress in the Persian Empire, with a cannon factory and arsenal. The
palace was large and gracious, with fountains, a hall of mirrors, painted
ceilings depicting the Persian epic hero Rostom, and other trappings of
civilized living.
In 1804 the arrogant Georgian Prince Tsitsianov led a Russian army against
Yerevan, but was forced to withdraw due to lack of supplies. That part of
the Armenian population that supported him, including a number of Armenian
notables and their retainers, retreated with him to Georgia. Tsitsianov was
murdered in 1806 outside the walls of Baku, and his loss was little
lamented. Future Russian leaders were more diplomatic, and found the
Armenians of Yerevan better allies, though by no means in a position to
liberate themselves from the 3000 troops of the Persian garrison. General
Gudovich tried and failed in 1808, but General Paskevich succeeded,
entering Yerevan on October 2, 1827, as recounted in a British War Office
summary:
"As soon as Paskiewitch assumed the command-in chief (note: in 1827)
he had a siege train carried up to the neighborhood of Erivan, which
fortress was still held by the Persians. Leaving the train in a
redoubt near Erivan, he marched to Abasabad, a new and regular
European fortress on the banks of the Arax near Nachitschevan. This
place opened its gates to him. Sardarabad, a large fortified village
on a canal fed by the Arax, was next taken, and the stock of
provisions found in it placed Paskiewitch in a position to commence
the siege of Erivan. Erivan had already been twice unsuccessfully
besieged, and was considered almost impregnable. The fortifications
consisted of two walls, an outer 25 feet and an inner 35 feet high
round three sides; the steep cliff of the ravine of the Zangi formed
a natural defense on the fourth side. Two weak detached bastions on
European principles had been added since an attack by General
Gudevich. Trenches were advanced under the natural cover of the
ground almost up to the foot of the walls. The batteries effected a
breach in a single day's firing; many of the garrison deserted during
the night, and on the following day Erivan was taken by assault."
After a bit of pillaging, Paskevich intervened to have most of the city
spared. Hosein Khan, the capable and generally respected Persian Khan of
Yerevan, escaped but his warlike brother Hasan Khan was captured along with
his prize possession, a sword that had once belonged to Timur Lenk
(Tamerlaine). This sword was subsequently presented to Czar Nikolai.
Paskevich's forces continued S to Tabriz, and forced Persia to cede all the
territory N of the Arax river to the Russian Empire in the Treaty of
Torkmenchay. Paskevich was rewarded with the title Count of Yerevan, and
went on to further glory as the brutal suppressor of a revolt in Poland.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Armenians flocked into the liberated
territories from Persia and the Ottoman empire.
Yerevan itself remained a Russian garrison town, but the fortress had lost
its importance. When Berge visited Yerevan in January 1848, he reported
that the thick, crenellated mud-brick walls of the Yerevan fortress were
already deeply crevassed, dissolving in the rain as mud-brick does unless

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 8

roofed and maintained. The Sardar's superficially splendid palace slowly

melted as well, and had become an eyesore by mid-century. In Soviet times,
the last traces of the fortress disappeared; the hulking basalt prison of
the Yerevan Wine Factory marks the site, though the fortress walls once
extended up and down the river as well as back toward town. An inscription
in Armenian on the lower wall of the Wine Factory commemorates the staging
in 1827 of a play by Griboyedov, a Russian diplomat/writer in Paskevich's
entourage, who was murdered by a Persian mob in 1829 with the rest of the
Russian Embassy in Tehran.
The City
In 1827, Yerevan was a town of 1736 low mud-brick houses, 851 shops, 10
baths, seven caravansaries, and six public squares, set among gardens
likewise walled with mud. Czar Nikolai I found no more endearing
description for Yerevan during his one brief visit in 1837 than "a clay
pot," and the Russian travel writer Mardovtsiev found little difference in
the 1890s: "Clay houses with flat clay roofs, clay streets, clay squares,
clay surroundings, in all directions clay and more clay." Yerevan remained
a garrison town of 12,500 inhabitants, more than half Muslim, a place of
low, flat-roofed houses and lush walled gardens, until the 20th century.
Practically nothing of this earlier town remains, except in Kond, tucked
between Moscovian Blvd. and the Dvin Hotel on Proshian ("Barbecue") and
Paronian Streets. The hill of Kond was a predominantly Armenian
neighborhood in Persian times, presided over by the Geghamian family of
meliks. Set apart for preservation in Soviet times, its winding alleyways
and tumbledown houses are now being razed surreptitiously to build orange
tuff palaces for Yerevan's post-Soviet gentry. But a careful search still
reveals crumbling archways and courtyards of an older Armenia.
The Medieval Bridge
The decayed remnants of a four-arched bridge of 1679 stand on the Hrazdan
river just below the fortress, now the site of the Yerevan Wine Factory at
the bottom of Mashtots Blvd. Built just after the great earthquake at the
expense of the wealthy merchant Hoja P'ilavi, this bridge (also known as
the Red Bridge from the tuff used) was extensively modified in 1830 by the
Russians. There had been a bridge at this site since very early times, the
connection between the city-fortress of Yerevan and the rich farmlands and
caravan routes of the Arax valley.
Churches
In 1828 there were seven Armenian Apostolic churches in Yerevan with a like
number of clergy, serving an Armenian population of perhaps 4000. Four of
those churches, two of them tiny, survived the Soviet period; though a
grand cathedral church of S. Grigor Lusavorich is a-building just E of
Republic Square, only one-tenth of one percent of Yerevan's population can
attend services at any given moment.
The oldest surviving church in Yerevan, the Katoghike, stands nestled in a
courtyard on the W side of Abovian Street just above Sayat Nova Blvd. Its
current form dates to 1936 , when the old cathedral church of Yerevan, a
substantial but undistinguished basilica rebuilt in 1693/4, was slated for
destruction in the name of urban renewal. The archaeologists won a modest
concession from Stalin's architects, that they could oversee the
dismantling and record the inscriptions and architectural fragments
incorporated in the rubble walls. Lo and behold, as the walls came down it
became clear that the central apse, the sanctuary, was in fact an almost
intact small Astvatsatsin church with inscriptions from the 13th century.
Public and scientific outcry won the newly discovered church a reprieve,

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 9

and since independence it has resumed its religious function, albeit

invisibly from the main streets. In front of the church is a small
collection of khachkar and other sculpted fragments from the core of the
destroyed basilica.
The 17th c. Poghos-Petros (Peter and Paul) church was not so fortunate,
destroyed to build the Moscow Cinema. Likewise the S. Grigor Lusavorich
church, begun in 1869 but not finished till 1900, gave way to the widening
of Amirian Blvd, and sits underneath the Eghishe Charents school.
The Zoravar Church survives concealed behind apartment fronts in the block
bounded by Moscovian, Pushkin, Ghazar Parpetsu, and Tumanian streets, a
hodgepodge of architecture dating from 1693 (funded by the wealthy Hoja
Panos) and rebuilt at various times, including by local dignitary Gabriel
Yuzbashi in the late 18th c. and French benefactor Sargis Petrossian in the
1990s. According to ecclesiastical history, it sits near the site of the
tomb/shrine of S. Ananias the Apostle.
In 1684, at the request of King Louis XIV to the Shah of Persia, French
Jesuits set up a mission in Yerevan, goal of which was to persuade the
Katholikos in Ejmiatsin to bring himself and his church into the Catholic
fold. Effectiveness of Jesuit diplomacy was reduced by their habit of dying
after a few months, but the second of them, Father Roux, became friendly
enough with the Katholikos that when he died in 1686 he was buried by the
Katholikos in the "magnificent monastery of Yerevan" next to the Armenian
bishops and archbishops. When the newly enthroned Shah Hussein banned wine
throughout his dominions in 1694, the missionaries mourned the destruction
of Yerevan's vintage, "the best wine in the Persian Empire." Local
authorities respected the extraterritoriality of the Jesuits, putting seals
on the door of the Mission wine cellar in such a way that the door could
still be opened. Nothing remains of the Jesuit mission, nor of the
"magnificent monastery of Yerevan" that housed their mortal remains.
Yerevan now has, not far from the U.S. Embassy, a small scholarly outpost
of their spiritual descendants, the Mekhitarist fathers.

Mosques
At the time of the Russian conquest there were eight mosques in Yerevan. On
the capture of the city in 1827, the grateful and prudent inhabitants (both
Muslim and Christian) bestowed the fortress mosque on the conquerors to
serve as a Russian Orthodox church until a more suitable structure could be
built for the purpose a few years later. The largest mosque of Yerevan and
only one still preserved, the Gyoy or Gök-Jami, (gök means "sky-blue" in
Turkish) was built in AH 1179 or AD 1765/6 by the command of local ruler
Hussein Ali-Khan to be the main Friday mosque. The mosque portal and
minaret were decorated with fine tile work. The central court had a
fountain and stately elm trees, with rooms around it,. There was an
adjoining hamam and school. In Soviet times, the mosque housed the Museum
of the City of Yerevan. In the mid-1990s, the powerful Iranian quasi-
statal foundation for religious propagation agreed to fund a total
restoration of the mosque with shiny new brick and tile. This restoration,
structurally necessary but aesthetically ambiguous, was largely finished in
1999. However, Armenian authorities, torn between the need to placate a
powerful neighbor and desire to minimize the practice of an unpopular
religion, have been slow to bless the reconsecration of the complex as a
mosque, suggesting it should serve as a cultural center instead. There is
supposed to have been a working mosque somewhere in Yerevan; made
superfluous by the 1988-91 population transfers, it burned down.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 10

The Museums
There are dozens of museums in Yerevan, mostly house-museums to writers,
painters, and musicians. The entry fee is minimal, and the staff are
generally delighted to receive a foreign visitor. If the language barrier
can be overcome, the hospitality and taste of a little-known culture will
be memorable.
The best museum in Yerevan is small and idiosyncratic, the would-be final
home of famed Soviet filmmaker Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990). Though an
ethnic Armenian (Parajanian), he was born in Tbilisi and spent most of his
professional career in Kiev or Tbilisi. He won international fame with
"Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" and "The Color of Pomegranates," but his
career was crippled by imprisonment (for homosexual liaisons) and denial of
resources. Under perestroika, Yerevan claimed him as its own, and built him
a lovely house overlooking the Hrazdan gorge in an area of ersatz
"ethnographic" buildings on the site of the former Dzoragyugh village (just
behind and left of the upscale restaurant "Dzoragyugh," commonly but no
longer accurately known as the "Mafia Restaurant" due to a leather-clad
clientele, a mysteriously reliable electrical supply during the dark nights
of 1993-95, and the occasional discharge of firearms). Alas, Parajanov
died before the house was finished, but it became a lovely museum/memorial
that also hosts dinners and receptions to raise funds. Parajanov's visual
imagination and subversive humor are represented in a series of
compositions from broken glass and found objects. His figurines from
prison-issue toilet brushes are proof that a totalitarian, materialist
bureaucracy need not prevail. Look for "The Childhood of Genghis Khan" and
Fellini's letter thanking Parajanov for the pair of socks.
The Matenadaran (manuscript library) is the other world-class museum in
Yerevan, partly for its exhibition of fine illuminated manuscripts but
primarily for its status as the eternal (one hopes) repository for
Armenia's medieval written culture. A vast gray basalt mass at the top of
Mashtots Blvd. (built 1945-57, architect M. Grigorian), the Matenadaran is
guarded by the statue of primordial alphabet-giver S. Mashtots (ca. 400)
and those of the other main figures of Armenian literature: Movses
Khorenatsi (5th -- or maybe 8th -- century "father of Armenian history");
T'oros Roslin (13th c. manuscript illuminator in Hromkla/Rum Qalat near
Edessa); Grigor Tatevatsi (theologian of Tatev Monastery, died 1409);
Anania Shirakatsi (7th c. mathematician, studied in Trebizond, fixed the
Armenian calendar); Mkhitar Gosh (died 1213, cleric and law codifier); and
Frik (ca. 1230-1310, poet). There are khachkars and other ancient carved
stones in the side porticos. The entry hall has a mosaic of the Battle of
Avarayr, and the central stair frescos of Armenian history, all by H.
Khachatrian.
English-speaking guides are usually on deck. Beside the exhibit hall (and
a small gift shop with excellent hand-painted reproductions of important
manuscript miniatures), there are conservation rooms and shelf on shelf of
storage (closed except to specialists with advance permission) for the
17000 manuscripts in a dozen languages. Cut deep in the hillside behind,
and shielded by double steel blast doors, is a splendid marble tomb
designed to preserve the collection against nuclear holocaust. Alas, the
execution did not live up to the grandiosity of the conception -- water
from a series of underground springs drips through the vaults, making them
unusable until a few million dollars are found for a total reworking.
The State History Museum in Republic Square (formerly Lenin Square) is
notable for the statues of Catherine the Great and Lenin squirreled away in
a back courtyard ready for any change in the political winds. The

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 11

important archaeological collection from Stone Age through Medieval periods

is dark and almost unlabeled, but should not be missed. Note a Latin
inscription from Ejmiatsin attesting to the presence of a Roman garrison.
There are some interesting models of early modern Yerevan and other
historical exhibits of interest to those comfortable in Armenian or
Russian.
The floors above contain the National Picture Gallery. Start by taking the
elevator to the top, then descend through the huge collection of Russian,
Armenian, and European works, some of the latter copies or else spoils of
W.W.II divided among the various Soviet republics.
Accessible from the street running behind the State History Museum is the
Middle Eastern Museum and Museum of Literature. The former has an
interesting collection, including a carpet-weaving display.
The Museum of the City of Yerevan is essentially defunct, its
archaeological and ethnographic collections in storage while the staff sits
in a small building at 33A Mashtots Blvd (left of and behind the school)
hoping someone will build them a new building to replace the original
quarters in the Gök Cami.
The Genocide Memorial and Museum at Tsitsernakaberd ("Swallow Castle") sits
on the site of a Iron Age fortress, all above-ground trace of which seems
to have disappeared. The Museum's testimony to the 1915 destruction of the
Armenian communities of Eastern Anatolia is moving, and the monument itself
is austere but powerful. The riven spire symbolizes the sundering of the
Eastern and Western branches of the Armenian people.
The view over the Ararat valley is striking. Gazing south, a Western
Christian might muse on the 10,000 Martyrs of Mt. Ararat, who used to be in
the Catholic saints' calendar for June 22. According to a legend that made
its way westward to become popular in 14th and 15th century Western art,
9000 Roman soldiers sent out to the Euphrates frontier with a certain
Acacius were led by angelic voices to convert to Christianity. The Roman
emperors sent troops against them, another 1000 of whom converted when the
stones they threw rebounded from the converts. Finally, the 10,000 were
subdued and crucified atop Mt. Ararat. A painting of this scene by the
late 15th c. Venetian artist Carpaccio shows the persecutors in Turkish
garb. Though the legend is too garbled to link to any historical event,
and the 10,000 are not part of the Armenian or Orthodox canons, perhaps the
cult is the echo of one of many Armenian cries to the West for help that
did not come. Purported relics of these martyrs can still be found in
various churches of France, Italy and Spain.
Armenians and Turks are still unable to sit down together to apportion and
accept responsibility for the modern and fully documented atrocities of
1915. Armenians say their Kurdish former neighbors have apologized and
been forgiven for their leading role in the murders and despoliations.
Modern Turkey, however, does not like to think or talk about the Armenians,
once a third of the population of Eastern Anatolia, though it tolerates the
ancient, prosperous, but shrinking Armenian community of Istanbul. Turkish
historians deny that the extermination was deliberate and systematic, and
lay stress on the fact that Armenian nationalist groups had made common
cause with the invading armies of the Russian Empire to carve out a Great
Armenia as part of a general dismembering of the Ottoman empire. The
surviving kin of the more than 800,000 Armenians who perished -- a
population that had inhabited the region for millennia and lived side by
side with Turks as the "loyal millet" for centuries -- reject such
justifications. Let us hope that a Europe-bound Turkey, and an independent

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 12

Armenia that has committed crimes as well as suffered them, will recognize
they have common ground for dialogue to heal this wound.
Suburbs: Avan and Kanaker
The village of Avan, lying in the angle between the Sevan and Garni roads,
has been swallowed up by Yerevan. Heading N past the Zoo (on the right,
larger than it looks, and not as depressing as it could be) and just before
the Botanic Garden (on the left, spacious and nice for walks, with some
plans for redemption), take the right off-ramp for Garni, but then go
straight through the intersection and turn left at the stop sign. Turn
immediately right, and head about 1 km up the main road of Avan. Where the
main road turns right at a modern monument and cemetery, continue straight
past the intersection a few meters, then take the first left down a narrow
lane. The church is about 300 m along, on the left. Like many other early
churches, this one is known locally as the Tsiranavor (“apricot-colored”).
Avan Church is the earliest surviving church inside the Yerevan city
limits, dating to the late 6th c. At a time when Armenia enjoyed competing
Persian-backed and Byzantine-backed katholikoi, the Avan church was built
by the pro-Byzantine Katholikos Hovhannes Bagavanetsi (traditional dates
591-603) as his headquarters, while his Persianizing rival sat in Dvin.
Multi-apsed, built on a two-step podium, the church preserves a low arched
doorway but is roofless. A surviving inscription preserves the name Yohan
in a plausibly early style, but with no title to confirm that this
commemorates the founder. There are ruins of monastic buildings N, perhaps
the seat of the rival katholikosate.
On a slope south of the early village, now on the edge of town, are two
chapels, of S. Hovhannes and S. Astvatsatsin, with interesting carvings.
Restored several times over the ages, they are believed to originate from
the 5-6th centuries. They underwent major reconstruction in the 13th c.,
but have spent three centuries in ruins since the 1679 earthquake. The
Avan cemetery on the west edge of the town has khachkars of the 13-18th c
and, across the road, the uninscribed stepped plinth and broken pillar of a
5-6th c. grave monument.
Kanaker was another important self-standing village in medieval times, now
absorbed into modern Yerevan. An important khachkar of 1265 stands with
pointed roof near the Sevan road, erected by Petevan and his wife Avag-
tikin for the remembrance of their souls. The church of S. Hakob was
dedicated to Hakob of Mtsbina (aka James of Nisibis), an early 4th c.
Syrian bishop who was one of the founders of Armenian Christianity. In
Armenian tradition (though not Syriac), S. Hakob attempted along with his
followers to climb the mountain of Noah's Ark (which back then was located
in Kurdistan south of Lake Van, rather than its currently popular location,
Armenian "Masis" or Turkish "Agri Dag" just across the border from
Armenia). Led by a vision, he found a piece of the Ark, which he brought
down in triumph. He was famous also for the springs of water that burst
forth where he laid his head, and also for leading the defense of Nisibis
against the Persians in AD 338. Near S. Hakob is a large basilica
dedicated to the Mother of God. Both churches have elaborate carved
entrances. Ruined in the 1679 earthquake, both were rebuilt soon after, S.
Hakob by a wealthy businessman based in Tbilisi, S. Astvatsatsin by local
efforts. S. Hakob was the seat of the bishop, with a diocesan school
founded in 1868. S. Astvatsatsin was a monastic church, originally walled
and with cells. Used as a warehouse in Soviet times, S. Hakob resumed its
churchly function in 1990. In the gorge below Kanaker may still remain
traces of a ruined "Tivtivi Vank" and of a stone bridge.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 13

Kanaker is famous also as the home of Khachatur Abovian, the school-

inspector/novelist who elevated the modern dialect of Yerevan to its
current literary eminence. Abovian was a nephew of the hereditary chief of
Kanaker village, a descendant, in turn, of the Beglarian clan of meliks of
Gyulistan (Nagorno-Karabakh). Abovian contributed to his fame by
accompanying Professor Friedrich Parrot of Dorpat University on the first
modern ascent of Mt. Ararat (the local one), in September 1829. Abovian
disappeared mysteriously in April 1848, leaving a wife and two young
children. The favorite theory, albeit with no firm evidence behind it, is
that he was kidnapped by the Czar's agents to rid the Empire of a
potentially dangerous Armenian nationalist in the year of the great
European revolutions. The Abovian house-museum, at 5th Kanaker St (Tel 28-
16-87) is reportedly still functioning.
The First American Tourists
Few Americans ever made their way to Russian Armenia, and even fewer left
much of a record behind. The earliest and most intrepid were probably the
Reverend Eli Smith and the Reverend H.G.O. Dwight, two Congregationalist
missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Ministers.
In 1830, as soon as the Russian conquest was firm, they set out to explore
first-hand the possibilities of converting the Muslims or at least
reforming the local Christians. Traveling from Ottoman Turkey, they
crossed into Russian Armenia at Gyumri, went up to Tbilisi, down to
Shushi/Shusha in Karabakh, west to Tatev monastery, down to Nakhichevan, up
to Yerevan and Ejmiatsin, then back down to Tabriz in Persia and eventually
back to Anatolia, traveling in great discomfort on Russian post-horses or
Persian mules, frequently ill, but always ready to reprove the theological
notions of those they met in route. Unfortunately, Smith had a bad fever in
Yerevan, and recorded little there except the uneven floor of his room at
the Georgian caravansary, use of which required the written permission of
the Russian police chief.
Smith painted in his book (Researches of the Rev. E. Smith and Rev. H.G.O.
Dwight in Armenia; Boston 1833) a vivid picture of the poverty, ignorance,
and hospitality of the Armenian countryside, of the circumscribed life of
Armenian women, and of the insularity of the Armenian Church. He was
appalled at the generally low educational level of the Armenian priesthood,
its fee-for-service system, its (in his view) idolatrous emphasis on the
Mother of God ("Her perpetual virginity is held to with an almost
inconceivable strictness as an essential article of belief, and is dwelt
upon with indecent minuteness."), and tales of unnatural vice among the
monastic clergy. Like today's Western missionaries of market reform, Smith
and Dwight seem to have made clear in advance what they expected to hear
from their hospitable interlocutors, who may not have always been strictly
truthful in obliging them.
Smith and Dwight's scouting mission had no immediate aftermath in Russian
Armenia, but 85 years later its importance was clearer. The American Board
of Commissioners' missionaries in Anatolia documented the destruction of
the Armenian communities and raised a cry for help. The result was the
American Near East Relief, which between 1915 and 1930 helped hundreds of
thousands of victims of WWI in Greece, Armenia, and the Middle East. So
effective was their humanitarian and educational work with the 15,000
Armenian orphans that Soviet Armenia kept them on a full decade after
Sovietization and expulsion of all other outside assistance groups,.
In Shushi, Smith and Dwight passed an agreeable time with a little group of
Calvinists from Basle in Switzerland, allowed by the Russians to set up
near the Persian border in hopes of proselytizing the Muslims. The Muslims

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 14

showed no interest (naturally, given the fate of apostates from Islam).

The Swiss concluded that, to make Christianity more appealing to the
Muslims, they needed to improve the moral tone of Karabakhi Christians,
which they did by opening a school. Two Armenian deacons, the thirstiest
for this alien wisdom, were eventually dragged back to Ejmiatsin in chains
by a dismayed Synod.

EXPLORING ARAGATSOTN

Aragatsotn Marz consists of the huge volcanic shield of Mt. Aragats,

formerly Alagyaz, whose main cone rises 4090 meters above sea level. The
high uplands provide grazing in summer for Yezidi shepherds, as well as the
clear air for Armenia’s observatories. The rocks, wildflowers, and views
make the ascent of Aragats unforgettable. A favorite site for the summer
cottages of affluent Yerevantsis due to its proximity and cool climate, the
S slopes of Aragats are also the subject of tentative efforts to develop
skiing (via snowmobile) and other winter sports. The remote medieval
fortress of Amberd is a memorable destination once the snows melt in May.
The eastern part of the Marz is laid out along the Kasagh river gorge,
which cuts deep into the rock and forms the backdrop for a chain of
spectacular monasteries. The western uplands of Aragats, a bleakly
beautiful landscape of volcanic boulders and green grass overlooking the
Ararat Valley, are dotted with villages, each athwart a stream gorge, most
with medieval churches and fortresses of the Bronze and Early Iron Age.
Aruch Cathedral, the castle at Nerkin Talin (Dashtadem) the paleolithic
open air workshops around Mt. Arteni, are all well worth a separate
expedition.
Ashtarak (15813 v., “Tower”) is the administrative capital of Aragatsotn,
spread out in and above the gorge of the Kasagh river. The city is endowed
with old churches, interesting museums, and some ambitious
restaurant/hotel/casino complexes suitable for lengthy carouses. From the
highway, a left exit before the massive half-finished bridge winds down
into Ashtarak, crossing via the lower bridge downstream. Turning right and
continuing about 1 km, turn right again just after the main square to reach
the Tsiranavor, Spitakavor, and Karmravor S. Astvatsatsin churches, the
House Museum of the novelist Perch Proshian, and a view of the old bridge
of 1664. S. Mariane church of 1281 is further W. It is marred by an
unfinished early 20th c. basilica tacked on. On the right bank of the gorge
above the medieval bridge is the new church of S. Sargis on early
foundations.
South from Ashtarak - Oshakan (Maps A, D)
Oshakan (3783 v), is most famous as the last resting place of Mesrop
Mashtots, (d 442) founder of the Armenian alphabet. Above his grave (19th
c. gravestone) is a church rebuilt by Katholikos George IV in 1875. It has
wall-paintings from 1960 by the artist H. Minasian. See below (Armavir
Marz, the Northeast Corner, for the 1827 Battle of Oshakan, a monument to
which lies near Ejmiatsin on the road S.
Excavations on Didikond hill, which rises just behind (S) of Oshakan,
revealed a square fort of the 7-5th c. BC, with five palace complexes on the
N slope. Just N of Oshakan, in a little valley called Mankanots, is a 7th
c. S. Sion church, with beside it an unusual pillar on a plinth dated to
the 6-7th c. and traditionally believed to mark the grave of the Byzantine
emperor Mauricius or his mother, based on the fact that one Armenian
historian says he came from here. Elsewhere in the vicinity are shrines of

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 15

S. Grigor, S. Sargis, S. Tadevos the Apostle, a rock-cut Astvatsatsin, and

a Tukh Manuk shrine atop the hill. The area has a series of rich Iron Age
tomb fields. W of Oshakan is a bridge of 1706 over the Kasagh river.
Voskehat (663 v., till 1949 Patrinj) has remains of an IA fort W, and
remnants of a 14th c. church. Voskevaz (2751 v.) was originally known as
Ghzltamur (“Red Timur”), by popular etymology out of gratitude to the 15th
c. scourge Timur Lenk, who chose not to slaughter the villagers. The
village has a roofless S. Hovhannes church. About 1 km S and a little W of
the village, overlooking the Kasagh gorge where another stream comes in,
are the ruins of the 5-7th c. “Badali Jam” church. W of this is a
prehistoric “Vishap” (carved dragon stone) brought from its original site
on Mt. Aragats and set up on a modern concrete plinth by local youths.
Another 100 m W are the important remnants of a major Bronze Age fortress,
called Aghtamir, including massive defensive walls, with medieval house
remains and early tombs within. Nearby is a late medieval stone and mud
fort, now crumbling. Nor Sasunik (2171 v.) began as a state farm in 1955,
but was augmented by the population of the original Sasunik further W,
brought in 1960.
The South Slopes of Aragats --Amberd (Map A)
Bypassing Ashtarak and the first exits for Mughni and Aparan, the first big
cloverleaf on the main highway leads one N to Parpi (1470 v), with a 5th c.
Tsiranavor church with later modifications. On the hill E is Targmanchats
domed church of 7th century and S. Grigor church. There is a fine cave with
a working door, used as a place of refuge in the 16th-18th c. E beyond
Parpi is the hamlet of Bazmaghbyur (620 v., till 1949 Takia), with early
burial sites and, on the cliff opposite Parpi's Tsiranavor church, ruins of
an Iron Age fort also call Bazmaghbyur. End of the road is Ghazaravan (339
v.), formerly Nazrvan, with interesting Bronze Age fortresses nearby.
Exiting right at the second interchange at the turnoff for Byurakan from
the Gyumri highway, on the left is a bird’s wing monument to the heroes of
the battle for Van. The monument is built on the site of the Bronze Age
graveyard of Verin Naver, with substantial chamber tombs of coarse boulders
surrounded by stone rings and covered with a mound. In Byurakan (2947 v.,
Bed & Breakfast) is the important S. Hovhannes basilican church. About 1
km NE (ask directions) is the Artavazik church of 7th c., with a 13th c.
khachkar. A side road goes W to just below Orgov and Tegher (see below).
Uphill from Byurakan, Antarut (224 v., until 1949 Inaklu, founded in the
2nd half of the 19th c.) has early khachkars. The road continues climbing
up the mountain. At the fork, a sign painted on the asphalt points left to
the fortress and church of Amberd** occupying a rugged promontory between
the Amberd river and its main tributary. The fortress reached its zenith
as the seat of the Pahlavuni feudal family in the 11th c. Prince Vahram
Pahlavuni built the church in 1026, as the inscription on the inside lintel
of the N. doorway documents. Conquered by the Turks, reacquired by the
Byzantines, lost again to the Seljuks, reconquered in 1196 by Ivane and
Zakare Zakarian, and purchased by Vache Vachutian in 1215, the fortress was
a key defensive site for centuries. Besides the citadel, bath, church, and
extensive house fortifications, there are outer defensive works and,
descending a perilous track on the SW corner, a covered passageway leading
to the river.
Climbing Mt. Aragats (Map A)
Taking the right fork away from Amberd, a narrow paved road (often closed
by snow well into June) climbs to a small artificial lake beside the Cosmic
Ray Institute at about 3200 m. This is the jumping off point for the climb
of Armenia’s tallest mountain.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 16

There are four summits, North (the highest, 4090m), West (4080m), South
(3879m) and East (3916m) forming the rim of a volcanic crater. Between
South and East summits the crater wall is broken, and a stream flows down
to the village of Aragats. A sharp ridge descends south from the South
summit. Between the other summits are high saddles with sweeping views.
Even on a clear August day, clouds usually gather in the crater by about
10:00 a.m. Therefore, it is preferable to start walking as early as
possible (e.g. 5:00 a.m.) to increase both the safety of the final ascent
and the odds of a spectacular view. Weather is unpredictable and often
dramatic, with snow possible at any time. Multiple layers (e.g., fleece
and Gore-tex) are indispensable, as are sturdy boots, sunscreen, lip balm,
a hat, and plenty of water.
The South summit, lowest and nearest of the four, can be reached in under
two hours from the lake. Easiest route is to ascend the mountain meadows
generally NNW, aiming for the NW corner of the summit. After an hour, on
the shoulder you will pick up a decaying jeep track that ascends in easy
switchbacks to the broad, relatively flat double summit. Faster perhaps,
but more strenuous, is to scramble up the ridge half way to the summit and
follow it north to the highest point.
The North summit takes about four hours from the lake. There are two main
routes. First is to cut north from below the NW corner of the South
summit, sliding down scree to the SW saddle, then descend into the crater
aiming for the eastern base of the North summit, from which one scrambles
up a series of scree slopes to a path along the crater rim. Though
involving (perhaps) less climbing, this route confronts a large icefield
that makes the SW saddle difficult to traverse. One can also climb the
ridge extending S from the S summit, then descend from the SE saddle. From
the rocky, exposed false summit, a trail continues to the true summit (with
a metal tripod), less difficult than it looks but not for acrophobes.
West Around Aragats -- Aghdzk and Aruch (Map A)
Taking the Byurakan exit but continuing past the turnoff for Byurakan, one
first reaches the village of Agarak (1135 v), on the Amberd river, founded
in 1919 from Van and Tbilisi. The village was apparently located on the
site of an Urartian settlement. Adjoining the road on the left side as one
ascends N toward the village, there is one massive, well preserved wall of
an earlier building converted to use as a church possibly in the 5-6th c.
through the addition of an apse. Turning right (N) in Agarak, the road
reaches the recently renamed village of Aghdzk (1109 v, once Akis/Hakhs),
still known to its inhabitants as Dzorap. Half way through the village on
the right of the road is a 4th c. grave monument complex. According to the
Epic Histories attributed to the more or less existent 5th c. historian
Pavstos Buzand, King Shapuh II of Persia exhumed the bones of the kings of
Armenia and carried them off to Persia, taking with him the luck and power
of Armenia. However, sparapet Vasak Mamikonian, having defeated the
Persians, reclaimed the bones of the Arshakuni dynasty and buried the royal
bones, pagan and Christian separately, in a low vaulted chamber. Bring a
flashlight to see the carved figures -- Daniel in the lions’ den on the
left, a mythical hero on the right, decorating the side niches, a unique
example of late 4th or early 5th c. Christian art in Armenia. N of the
shrine, whose superstructure is destroyed, are the lower walls of a 4th c.
Christian basilica. About 100 m N of the basilica, by a shrine, a path
leads right into the gorge below the church, with a series of interesting
caves, some with doors, used in the 16-18th c. for refuge.
Continuing N. up the mountain from Aghdzk, one bears left at the fork to
reach the monastery of Tegher* (176 v), made of dark gray basalt. The

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 17

gavit, finished in 1232, is particularly impressive. The complex was built

at the behest of Mamakhatun, wife of Prince Vache Vachutian, and the
architect, according to an inscription on a column of the gavit, was the
vardapet Aghbayrik. The ruined village has interesting houses and the
remains of a funerary chapel. Taking the right fork, the road winds to
Orgov (329 v), with several huge radio-astronomy telescopes and, in the W
part of the village, remains of a Bronze Age cyclopean fort, beside which
an underground passage was recently discovered leading to a neighboring
spring.
From the main road to Gyumri, a right turn some 15 km past the Ashtarak
bridge leads to Ujan (1765 v), endowed with a cave, a cyclopean fort with
ruined church and underground passage, and a statue of General Andranik,
hero of Armenia's battles against the Turks and Azeris in 1917-1920. On
the highway beyond Ujan is the turnout SW for Aragatsotn (583 v.)and Nor
Edesia (569 v.), former Sovkhozes founded in 1971 and 1975.
Just off the road E before the first turnoff to Kosh is a large khachkar
whose inscription, from 1195, commemorates the delivery of Aragatsotn from
the Seljuk Turks. Kosh (1938 v.) is attested from early Christian times
as Kvash, with a relatively rich history. In the village are ruins of S.
Grigor (13th c) and S. Gevorg (19th c. churches). N of Kosh is the 13th c.
Kosh castle, built on earlier remains, as Hellenistic period pottery
attests. SE of this castle on a nearby hill are IA towers. From Kosh, at
3.1 km from the Gyumri highway driving N on a good asphalt road, a dirt
track angles off to the right, leading to the 7th S. Stepanos church in the
gorge, with hermits’ caves and substantial ruins of the Koshavank monastic
complex. Continuing, the main road forks at the hamlet of Verin Sasunik
(formerly Gharajilar), which was emptied in 1960 and resettled in 1989.
Right of the road at the turnoff are a cemetery and remains of a 7th? C.
domed church and various medieval remnants. Follow the main road right to
Avan (533 v), bearing right inside the village. On the right is the
single-aisle 5th c. Astvatsatsin basilica, roofless. Continuing straight S
on a muddy track, one sees ultimately the piled stones of a substantial
Iron Age cyclopean fortification on a S. facing promontory, with excellent
view. A left fork at Sasunik leads to Lernarot (222 v., till 1949 Makhta)
At approximately 25 km on the left is the turnoff for Shamiram (838 v), a
predominantly Yezidi village. On the right near the S end of the village,
where two gorges merge, are the low-lying remains of a substantial fortress
and settlement of the Bronze Age through medieval periods. All around the
fortress are traces of large, wealthy tomb fields.
Next village N is Aruch (711 v., until 1970 Talish), once the seat of
Grigor Mamikonian (661-682), a prince who enjoyed considerable autonomy
under the Arab invaders. The Katholikos/historian Hovhannes Draskhanakertsi
described the villages as follows (tr. Maksoudian):
"...through divine visitation the pious prince Grigor Mamikonian laid
the foundations of the beautiful church in the dastakert of Aruch and
had it built in haste as a celestial abode on earth. To the south of
it he built his palace on the edge of the rocky glen, where a limpid
spring gushed bubbling through the recesses of the rocks, so that it
covered the edge like a parapet on a bastion. And then, encircling
it with a wall built with well-fastened stones that were cemented
with lime mortar, he set it up as his place of residence.
To reach the village, turn W from the main road to Gyumri where you see on
the left the heavily restored remains of one wing of a 13th c. caravansaray.
A paved road leads to the village, with the impressive domed Cathedral
Church of St. Gregory*, built in 666. Beside it are the excavated remains

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 18

of the Mamikonian palace. Nearby are ruined walls from a 13-14th c. castle,
among the well-built 19th c. stone houses. The road continues S to Nor
Amanos (427 v.), until 1984 Sovkhoz #2.
Opposite the Aruch turnoff the road NE goes to Agarak (662 v, once Talishi
Agarak), whose inhabitants came in 1920 from Van. There is an Urartian
site, and a ruined 5-6th c. church. West and N of Agarak, a road leads from
the main road to Nerkin Bazmaberd (947 v., formerly Aghjaghala), whose
population came as refugees from W. Armenia in 1915. Some 3 km SSW are
ruins of the IA fort of Karakala. NE of N. Bazmaberd are Kakavadzor (590
v., formerly Yashil), Baysz (108 v., formerly Bashsis) with 12th c. church
ruins, castle remnants, and Dian (76 v., name unchanged). Verin Bazmaberd
(284 v, Aghjaghala Ulia) has church and fortress ruins. The road continues
up into the mountains, ending at Avtona (119 v., until 1935 Schanlu), a
Yezidi village whose name means “Waterless” in Kurdish. A spur S of the
highway leads to the village of Partizak (189 v.), formerly Bakhchajur.
North Toward Talin and Mastara (Map B)
Nerkin Sasnashen (654 v., formerly Gharagonmaz) has the foundations of a
small 7th c. monastery on a beautiful promontory at the SW end of the
village beyond the cemetery. There are traces of substantial IA
fortifications closing off the promontory, and caves in the gorge below. A
series of left turns from the village council building leads to the
battered walls of a second early church. Continuing NW through the
village, a bad road to the right at the far end leads to the simple granite
marker commemorating the crash site of 17 U.S. Air Force personnel shot
down by Soviet MIG fighters on September 2, 1958 when their C-130
electronic intelligence plane strayed across the border from Turkey. Six
bodies were returned in September 1958, and a USAF team recovered
additional remains in the 1990s. The paved road continues across the gorge
and up to Verin Sasnashen (271 v.), allegedly with cyclopean fort ruins.
The road ascends temptingly, paved with rough cobbles, deep into the
Aragats highlands.
A choice of roads leads to Kat'naghbyur (895 v., formerly Mehraban), with
ruined 5th c. church, Davtashen (479 v., till 1950 Aylanlu) and Irind (518
v., name unchanged). A right turn on the paved road from the Irind village
square leads in 100 m to the remains of an important 7th c. octagonal
church*. Somewhere nearby is an IA fortress. The left fork in Katnaghbyur
leads to Shgharshik (349 v., till 1935 Sheikh Haji), with the small IA
fortress of Kyoroghlu Berd (and a miniature cave shrine) on the cemetery
hill, and to Yeghnik (288 v., till 1946 Dadalu), with S. Nshan church of
1866. The main highway cuts through a rise containing a substantial 4-6th
c. fortress found and excavated during road construction.
North of this site, a good road leads SW to Ashnak (868 v., aka Eshniak),
known since the 5th century as a substantial settlement but in its current
location a foundation of 1830, refugees from Sasun. A left turn just past
the little village square leads to the ruins of a simple 10th c. chapel on
earlier foundations. In the cemetery on the right hand side of the main
road are scanty mortar and rubble outcrops from a 5th(?) c. church, and
traces of a cyclopean fort amid the well-tended farmyards. Further W about
5 km are ruins of a 9-10th c fort, and 1st c BC graves. Ashnak has a famous
folk dance troop that, in better times, toured internationally.
Turning N instead of S at the turnoff for Talin, one fork leads to Akunk
(462 v, till 1946 Gyuzlu), founded in 1829 from Khoy and Mush. There is a
cyclopean fort nearby. The right fork goes to Karmrashen (381 v., till
1946 Krmzlu), with a S. Astvatsatsin church of 1865, a “Chknavor” rock-cut

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 19

shrine, khachkars, and ruins of a cyclopean fort nearby. Vosketas (333 v.,
till 1935 Ghuldervish) is beyond.
Turning from the main road toward Talin (4591 v), the 2nd or 3rd right turn
leads to a large cemetery in which are the impressive remains of an
important cathedral church* very similar to the 7th c. church at Aruch .
Nearby is a smaller S. Astvatsatsin church, built in the 7th c. According
to the inscription, “I Nerseh the patrician proconsul, lord of Shirak and
Asharunik, built this church in the name of the Holy Mother of God for her
intercession for me and my wife Shushan and Hrapat my son.” Two Nersehs
are attested as Byzantine governor, one from the reign of the Emperor
Heraclius in 639, the other from the reign of Justinian II in 689.
Somewhere in the vicinity are remnants of a medieval castle.
Taking the first turnoff to Mastara (1779 v.) the road leads toward an
excellent early church* on the E edge of the village. On the S wall
outside a fragmentary Greek inscription seems to mention the Sasanid king
Peroz (reign 459-484), suggesting a 5th century date, but other building
inscriptions indicate that the bulk of the church is 7th century with later
repairs. According to popular etymology, Mastara derives its name from
Gregory the Illuminator, who brought back from Caesaria the relics of John
the Baptist, one fragment of which he enshrined beneath the church site:
Mas (a piece) Tara (I buried). The church was closed in 1935 and used as
the collective farm storehouse until it was reopened in 1993.
From Mastara a road continues NE to Dzoragyugh (till 1940 N. Pirtikan),
Dprevank (149 v., not the lost monastery of that name), and Tsaghkasar (59
v.), with a shrine of Tadevos the Apostle, and ruins of a cyclopean fort.
Beyond is Zovasar (353 v, till 1978 Aghakchik), 2km SW of which is the
former village of Shenik with 5th c. S. Amenaprkich church and 7th c. S.
Astvatsatsin church. End of the road is Garnahovit (293 v., till 1946
Adyaman). Nearby to the E and SE are Urartian remains. In the middle of
the village is S. Gevorg church of the mid-7th c. There are other church
remains in the gorge.
Talin Fortress and Kristapori Vank (Map B)
Turning left in the main square of Talin, follow the asphalt road S to
Dashtadem (429 v., formerly Nerkin/Lower Talin). A few hundred meters
after the electric substation, on the left rise the ruined stone walls of a
large medieval caravansaray. W of the road on a hill are remains of Stone
Age obsidian workshops. In the middle of the village of Dashtadem, a left
turn leads almost immediately to the arched gateway to the fortress*. Most
of the outer circuit wall dates to the last Qajar khans of Yerevan, at the
beginning of the 19th c. However, the fortress is considerably earlier.
The keep within is a bizarre structure, with half-round towers glued onto
an earlier Armenian fortress probably of the 10th c. Beneath the citadel are
substantial cisterns. There is also a chapel of S. Sargis beside it, dated
to the 10th c.
An elegant Arabic inscription in Kufic letters on the E wall of the keep
reads: “May Allah exalt him. In the blessed month of Safar in the year
570 (September 1174) the lord of this strong fortress, the Prince, the
great Spasalar, the Pillar of the Faith, the Glorifier of Islam, Sultan son
of Mahmud son of Shavur.” Sultan ibn Mahmud, known to Arab historians
under the Persian name Shahanshah, was the last of a fascinating clan of
Kurdish adventurers, the Shaddadids, who entered Armenian history in 951 at
the city of Dvin. This was a period of political chaos, and the Christian
and Muslim citizens of Dvin, fearful for their women and property, invited
Muhammad ibn Shaddad and his little tribe to stay and protect them as
contract warlords. Soon driven out of Dvin, the Shaddadids performed the

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 20

same services for the Muslim folk of Ganja in Azerbaijan, where they
established themselves as emirs. Until 1030, they intermittently ruled at
Dvin as well. They intermarried with the Bagratid princes of Armenia, and
seem to have coexisted with their Armenian subjects. After considerable
difficulties with the invading Byzantines, the Shaddadids welcomed the
Seljuk Sultan Alp-Arslan effusively in 1067, offering him the keys to Ganja
and most of their treasure. They assisted in his campaigns, and in 1072
one son of the family purchased the Bagratid capital city of Ani, which he
and his descendants ruled, albeit with interruptions, until 1199. One month
after the date of the Dashtadem inscription, Shahanshah was driven out of
Ani by Georgian King Giorgi. Perhaps he had prudently reinforced this
fortress to be his bolt-hole. In any case, his departure was temporary;
the Seljuk sultan ravaged southern Georgia, and an Armenian inscription of
1193 and Arabic inscription of 1198/9 attest that Shahanshah/Sultan was
again ruling in Ani at the time of its conquest by the Zakarian brothers
Ivane and Zakare. The Shaddadids thereupon faded away.
Continuing through Dashtadem, and descending toward the S, a spur road
climbs left to the restored 7th c. Kristapori Vank*. The road from
Dashtadem deteriorates greatly passing Lusakn (120 v.), but finally
reaches the Armavir-Gyumri road S of Arteni.
The main road from Talin leads W to Areg (580 v, till 1935 Firmalak).
Continuing W, one reaches the hamlets of Gyalto (125 v.), and then Hakko
(123 v.) on the N side of Mt. Arteni. The first left fork before Areg leads
S on a newer road, passing Mt. Arteni on the E and leading past the village
of Barozh (148 v., till 1935 Duzkend) and Ghabaghtapa (123 v.) to the town
of Arteni (2171 v., till 1950 Boghutlu) with its wine factory. A second
dirt road before Areg leads up toward the summit of Arteni, with a huge
Urartian-medieval fortification. On the SE slopes of Arteni is the famous
Lower Paleolithic-Neolithic site of Satani Dar.
N from the village of Arteni paralleling the railroad and the Turkish
border, you pass in succession Aragats (3885 v., founded in 1924), Getap
(159 v., till 1946 Gharaghla) and Tlik (118 v.) before entering Shirak Marz
near the village of Anipemza.
From Areg, a road goes NW to Sorik (151 v., till 1935 Dzorba), Hatsashen
(250 v., till 1978 Sabunchi), Tsamakasar (296 v., BA burials), Suser (245
v., till 1946 Ghlijatagh, shrine E) and Nor Artik (364 v. founded 1902)
and enters Shirak Marz at Bagravan. A right turn in Tsamakasar leads to
Zarinja (411 v.) in N. part of which village is 7th c. S. Khach, rebuilt in
the 10th c.
Saralanj (171 v), if it is not a list-maker’s duplicate, is likely to be
discovered only by accident.
North from Ashtarak -- Hovhannavank to Aparan (Map A)
Crossing the main highway bridge, the first exit right leads to the village
of Mughni, now inside the Ashtarak city limits but till the Russian
conquest the southernmost village in the mahal of Aparan. Mughni kept its
medieval name, along with the 14th c. Monastery of S. Gevorg, once a popular
pilgrimage site for both Christians and Muslims. The church, with its
distinctive striped drum below the conical cupola, was rebuilt in 1661-69
by order of the vardapet Yovhannes. It had an archbishop, a monk, five
deacons, and one acolyte in 1830, supported by the revenues of Mughni
village. In 1999 the church was undergoing major restoration.
Karbi (2405 v), the next village north along the Kasagh gorge, has been
known since the 13th century. Though ravaged and plundered repeatedly,
several churches remain: S. Astvatsatsin basilica of 1691-93, the 11-13th c.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 21

S. Kiraki or S. Gevorg, Tsiranavor and Tukh Manuk, and the “Zargarents Jam”
chapel.
Ohanavan (1403 v) was resettled by migrants from Mush in 1828. Perched on
the Kasagh gorge rim, Hovhannavank* is a major monument from the 7th c. and
later, the best documented of the major Armenian monasteries due to a
manuscript of pious history compiled in 1686 by the Archdeacon Zakaria.
The monastery was dedicated to John the Baptist, and has a 12th c.
fortification wall with towers to the W, a 13th c. church and gavit (a
rebuilding financed in part by Kurd Vachutian), and an early single-aisle
church. The monastery has rich stone decoration, and many inscriptions.
According to one high on the N wall of the so-called “tapanatun”, “By the
grace of beneficent God, in the reign of Queen Tamara daughter of the great
George, in the year 642 (AD 1200), of the race of Torgom, we the brothers
Zakaria and Ivane, sons of Sargis the great, son of Avag Zakaria, when the
light of God’s grace rose and entered Armenia and strengthened our weakness
in the battle against the enemies of Christ’s cross and destroyed their
power and quenched their violence and the country of Ararat was delivered
from the heavy yoke of their servitude, we wished to make offering and gave
the tribute of grace to the Holy Forerunner of Hovhannavank...”
Ushi (929 v) was until the Russian conquest in 1828 the administrative
center of the Mahal of Sayyidli-Aksakhli, encompassing the mountain slopes
inhabited by the Turkic tribes of those names. Entering the village
opposite the turn-off for Hovhannavank and taking the paved fork right, one
bumps W past a small 10th c. church and reaches in about 1 km the badly
ruined S. Sargis Vank* and 7th c. shrine on a hillside with a splendid view.
Work is under way to lay clear the collapsed 13th c. church and adjacent
gavit. The complex is surrounded by a fortification wall of 1654. There
is an Iron Age fort atop the hill nearby.
Built on the gorge N of Ohanavan is Saghmosavank* (130 v), the “Monastery
of Psalms”, with S. Sion church and an adjoining gavit built in 1215 by
Prince Vache Vachutian and his wife Mamakhatun. According to an
inscription of 1255 on the structure S of the main church, “I Kurd (son of
Vache) and my wife Khorishah built this library and established this chapel
in the name of our daughter.” The monastery was restored several times
including in 1890.
Continuing north beyond the village of Artashavan (393 v, formerly
Ilanchalan), there is a ruined 7th c. Amenaprkich church 500 m NE. Next
village is Apnagyugh (314 v, formerly Akina-Gök), then Aray (224 v,
formerly Bazarjik) with a ruined caravansary built by the Zakarian brothers
in 1213, rebuilt in the 19th c., and a cyclopean fort to SW. N of Aray on
the spur road is Vardenut (487 v, formerly Shirakala), settled, along with
the neighboring villages, by emigrants who came from Persia in 1829-30
under the exchange of populations provided by the Treaty of Turkmanchay.
There are remains of a shrine, and a substantial Iron Age fort in the
village. Aragats (1927 v, till 1948 Ghazanfar) is jumping off place for
scaling Mt. Aragats from the E, following the stream. Next is Tsaghkashen
(397 v, till 1950 Takiarli). E from Aragats is Shenavan (979 v, formerly
Bulkheyr). Opposite Shenavan on the main road is Hartavan (548 v, formerly
Ghara-Kilisa). Turning E at the entrance to Hartavan, the road crosses the
Kasagh gorge. By taking the old road (left fork) into the gorge, one
reaches the ruined Astvatsnkal monastery of 5-13th c. An inscription on the
S. wall of the Kathoghike church reads: “By the grace and mercy of God, I
Kurd, Prince of Princes, son of the great Vache, and my wife Khorishah,
daughter of Marzpan, built the Holy Katoghike for the memory of our souls.
We have decorated it with every kind of precious ornament and offered the
garden bought by us in Parpi, virgin land in Oshakan, a garden in Karbi, a

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 22

villager (?), and three hostels, in the year 693/AD 1244.” Continuing E,
you reach Yernjatap (318 v., till 1949 Ghrabulagh). 2km SW along the gorge
is allegedly a ruined church. A spur N leads to the hamlet of Norashen (86
v., till 1946 Sachili).
An unmarked road leads E from the main Aparan highway to the little
settlement of Jrambar (203 v.) housing workers and security personnel for
the Aparan dam and reservoir which supply some of Yerevan’s drinking water.
Beneath the waters of the reservoir are the ruins of Zovuni, with an
important Poghos-Petros church, Tukh Manuk shrine, and mortuary chapel
called by popular tradition the mausoleum of Zoravar Vardan Mamikonian, the
heroic loser of the battle of Avarayr. The church* and mausoleum were
moved stone by stone to higher ground E of the reservoir.
Kuchak (1227 v) was founded in 1829-30 by migrants from Mush. It is named
for Nahapet Kuchak, a 16th c. bard from near Van traditionally but
erroneously credited with a whole genre of medieval Armenian verse call
Hayrens. There is a 19th c. church. The road E from Kuchak passes an
evocative “Tukh Manuk” shrine on a hilltop overlooking the reservoir and a
ruined basilica church. The scatter of obsidian flake around the shrine
suggests use from earliest times. The road crosses the N end of the
reservoir to reach Yeghipatrush (439 v.) known till 1945 as Tanjrlu and
then till 1992 called Mravyan after Askanaz Mravyan, first Soviet Armenian
Cultural Commissar. In the village is a 10-13th c. S. Astvatsatsin church.
Some 100 m beyond is an early cemetery with one corner of an allegedly 5th
c. basilica in addition to a khachkar shrine.
Back on the main road, you soon reach the former region capital of Aparan
(4913 v), till 1935 Bash Aparan, site of an important battle against the
Turkish army in 1918. Just N of town, on a hill left of the road, is an
impressive monument to the battle. In June 2000, the remains of General
Dro, the great war leader, were transferred here from Massachusetts.
Behind the monument toward the Kasagh gorge is a large Bronze Age
settlement site, with tomb fields and caves. Aparan’s population, mixed
Armenians and Kurds, is the butt of various jokes. As Kasagh, Aparan was
listed by the geographer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. About 100 m E of the
highway toward the N end of town is the impressive and architecturally
important 5th c. Kasagh Basilica*, restored and operating again as a church.
From Aparan, a road angles back SE to Mulki (361 v, formerly Melkum-Kendi),
Vardenis (414 v., till 1969 Gyulluja, with 19th c. church), Chknagh (143
v.), and Ttujur (“Sour water”, 214 v., till 1950 Imrlu), this latter with a
S. Harutyun church in the village and a 17th c. shrine called Karmir Vank to
the S. Beyond is Dzoraglukh (203 v., till 1946 Gyulablu), reportedly with
a 10-12th c. S. Hovhannes church on the E side. In principle, a jeep
tracks winds up into the mountains from Ttujur and ends at Hankavan.
Turning E at the main traffic circle in Aparan (S of the basilica), a good
road leads to the village of Lusagyugh (510 v., formerly Gharanlegh). The
village has a small working church of 1887. A few hundred meters up the
valley by dirt track is a badly ruined church with a sign dating it to the
4th c. On a hilltop N of the village is a 7th c. chapel, called a Tukh
Manuk.
North from Aparan, the road rises to upland grasslands, home of Yezidi
shepherds and mountain views. Nigavan (417 v., till 1947 Damagermaz, then
Hovit till 1967) has a cyclopean fort and a 19th c. church. E of the road,
Mirak (67 v., formerly Miriak) has ruins of a 5th c. church. Further NE is
Melikgyugh (624 v., formerly Melik-Kendi). Next on the main road are
Shenkani (119 v., till 1978 Kr'oyigegh or K'yorbulagh) and Rya Taza (284 v,
formerly Ghondaksaz) the latter a Yezidi village with a ruined 10-13th c.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 23

church and a cemetery with zoomorphic (animal shaped) tombstones. Rya Taza
("New Way") gives its name to a Kurdish newspaper and other cultural
activities.
The crossroads village of Alagyaz (338 v., till 1938 Mets Jamshlu), is
likewise primarily inhabited by Yezidi Kurds. There is a cheese factory.
Turning W, one passes in succession the villages of Vardablur (357 v., till
1950 Jangi), Sangyar (251 v., formerly Jangi Kuchuk), and Tsaghkahovit
(1144 v., till 1946 Haji Khalil). The latter has substantial Late Bronze
Age (ca. 1100) through Urartian remains on the hill to the E, the Kalachi
Amrots. A joint team of U.S. and Armenian archaeologists has begun
excavation of the fortress atop the hill, the houses spread out to the S
and the cemeteries nearby. There is a modern Grigor Lusavorich church in
the village. Next is Amre Taza (122 Yezidi v., till 1978 Karavansara),
then Hnaberd (1081 v.), named after the ruins of an Urartian fortress
nearby. There is a 5th c. church and shrine. Beyond are Geghadzor (646
v.), Berkarat (559 v.), Geghadir (382 v.), and Norashen (664 v., formerly
Ghur'udara). The road then enters Shirak Marz.
Another road from Alagyaz leads E to the hamlets of Derek (296 v., till
1978 Jarjaris), with a ruined church said to be 5th c, and Ortachia (101 v,
formerly Kuruboghaz). The straight track N from Alagyaz leads to Sipan
(192 v., till 1978 P'amb Kurd or P'ambak)and Avshen (232 v., till 1978
Chobangerekmaz) on the old Tsarist road to Spitak. However, the road over
the Spitak pass is badly washed out and probably impassible.
The modern main road to Spitak and Lori Marz thus bends slightly west,
passing Jamshlu (163 v.), Gegharot (344 v., till 1945 Keshiskend), and
Tsilkar (310 v.). W of the road, Lernapar (288 v.) was known till 1978 as
Haykakan (Armenian) Pamb or Gharakilisa.

EXPLORING ARARAT
Ararat Marz is the agriculturally rich but hot and flat valley of the Arax
river S of Yerevan, including the severe brown hills of the lower Azat and
Vedi river watersheds, but including fine green valleys and mountains in
the upper reaches, mostly now protected within the bounds of the Khosrov
Nature Reserve. Ararat Marz is dominated by the double silhouette of Mt.
Ararat, which looms on a clear day close and magical.
Main tourist destination of the Marz is Khor Virap monastery, legendary
site of the captivity of Gregory the Illuminator, which sits among the
ruins of Ancient Artashat. The ruins of Dvin are another important
destination, at least scientifically, while the upper valley of the Vedi
River includes interesting natural sites and a fortified monastery. The
fishponds of Armash are one of the Caucasus’s richest spots for birders.
East from Yeraskh, a fold of Mt. Urts shelters the S. Karapet Monastery.
Technically in Ararat Marz, but more accessible from Garni (see Kotayk
section), the remote valleys of the Azat river and its tributaries shelter
Aghjots (S. Stepanos) Vank and Geghi Castle (Kakavaberd).
Over the centuries, the population of the Arax valley had become
predominantly Muslim, as Turkish, Mongol, and Persian conquerors pushed
aside the Christian population out of these fertile lands. Though
Armenians began to return to Ararat Marz, then Zangi-Basar and Garni-Basar
mahals, as early as 1828 with the Russian conquest, most of the villages
retained Turkish names until the middle of this century, and the last
Azerbaijani villages became Armenian only with the mutual ethnic cleansing
of 1988-89.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 24

Given the difficulty of integrating Ararat’s numerous villages into a

single logical itinerary, and the relative scarcity of preserved sites,
they are listed in roughly N-S order, with exceptions stated.
West of Yerevan (Maps C, D)
Argavand (1019 v., till 1946 Uzunoba) is just S of the road to Zvartnots
airport. It has a ruined 5th c. S. Harutyun church in the cemetery, and a
large Turkmen funerary monument of 1413 with Arabic inscription (see
Armavir section for text).
Geghanist (1635 v., till 1948 Kolkat, church of 1852).
Arbat ( 1210 v., kept its name)
Azatashen (416 v., founded 1929)
Getap'nya (861 v., till 1978 Aghjaghshlagh);
Khachpar (1320 v.)
Ghukasavan (1190 v., till 1949 Kalali), named for Ghukas Ghukasian (1899-
1920), founder of Armenia’s Communist Youth Movement. The Komsomol Museum
in the village was founded in 1970.
Hayanist (1178 v., Gharaghshlar till 1978, then renamed Dostlugh --
“Friendship” in Turkish -- till the exchange of populations in 1988-89
replaced its Azeris with Armenians).
Darbnik (665 v.)
Darakert (1741 v.,, till 1978 Haji Elias or Ipeklu Eylas)
Hovtashat (2568 v., till 1978 Mehmandar)
Dashtavan (1251 v., till 1978 Shorlu Demirji)
Norabats (1564 v., till 1978 Yengija) has the Neolithic ruins of Yengija
or Masis Blur (6-4th millennium BC) to the S. Nearby is a sandstone quarry
with mammoth bones and other fossils. N of Norabats toward Nerkin Charbakh
is a 3rd-1st millennium BC settlement site on a hill.
Aynt'ap (5428 v., renamed in 1970 from Bayburdabad or Bazakend)
Dzorak (1472 v.)
Nizami (1130 v., till 1978 Nejeli Verin, renamed in honor of the 12th
century poet Nizami Ganjevi, from Ganja. Nizami is the most respected poet
of Azerbaijan. His verse, in Persian, included epic tales and reams of
good advice in the form of rhyming couplets.)
Nor Kharbert (4364 v., founded 1929) is named for a town in Western
Armenia, the 1915 massacres in which were thoroughly documented by American
missionaries.
Sip'anik (309 v., formerly an Azeri annex to Hovtashat village, resettled
in 1989 by refugees from Azerbaijan)
Sayat-Nova (1507 v., till 1978 Nechili Nerkin), formerly Azeri, now
resettled by refugees from Azerbaijan
Masis (12599 v., formerly Zangibasar, Narimanlu and Ulukhanlu villages)
used to be a main transportation depot of the S. Caucasus.
Sis (1198 v., till 1991 the Azeri village of Sarvanlar)
Noramarg (1040 v.), primarily refugees from Azerbaijan in 1988.
Ranchpar (1047 v., also Ranchpar Jafar Khan), formerly Azeri, resettled by
refugees in 1988. A ranchpar was in pre-Soviet times a peasant with no tie
to a specific piece of land.
South from Yerevan (Map C)
Heading S on the old main road (E of the four-lane highway) toward the Marz
capital of Artashat, the villages are:
Nor Kyurin (476 v.)
Marmarashen (1930 v., till 1967 Aghhamzalu)
Jrahovit (675 v., till 1960 Jabachalu), has a Chalcolithic-Iron Age tell
nearby.
Arevabuyr (616 v., till 1978 Kharatlu)
Mrgavet (1600 v., till 1945 Gharadaghlu, then Tsaghkashen till 1967)

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 25

Mkhchyan (2982 v., till 1935 Imamshahlu), named after a Soviet commander
killed in 1921 civil strife.
Dimitrov (1101 v., till 1949 Ghuylasar Nerkin) has a church.
Masis village (1109 v., till 1945 Tokhanshalu)
Burastan (1567 v., formerly Gharahamzalu)
Azatavan (2300 v., till 1945 Chigdamlu)
Baghramian (1261 v., till 1949 Bashnalu) has 19th c. church.
Berkanush (1204 v., till 1945 Oghurbekli, old church)
Dalar (1992 v., till 1935 Dalilar Buyuk) has church of 1904 and a modern
sculpted spring monument called “The Three Girls.”
Mrgavan (1349 v., till 1945 Gyodaklu)
Artashat (18848 v.) is the modern capital of Ararat Marz, deriving its name
from ancient Artaxiata, “Joy of Artashes.”. This large, planned town,
known till 1945 as Ghamarlu, was founded in 1828-29 by migrants from
Persia. West of the modern highway N of Artashat are Hovtashen (784 v.,
till 1978 Pughamlu) and Araksavan (540 v., till 1978 Sabunchi).
A road from S of Jrahovit leads E to Jrashen (1220 v., founded 1928) then S
to Ditak (506 v., founded 1927), and Arevshat (1552 v., once Mets Armalu,
then until 1945 Nerkin Aghbash, new church). NE from Arevshat are Abovian
(964 v., till 1946 Upper Aghbash), Lanjazat (907 v., till 1940 Janatlu,
then Zovashen till 1967), and Bardzrashen (1060 v., till 1945 Bitlija).
Near Lanjazat, a paved road leads NE past the Azat River Reservoir and
eventually joins up with the main road to Garni and Geghard. This road
offers a shortcut for tourists attempting a one-day circuit including Khor
Virap along with Garni.
From Arevshat S. the next village is Deghdzut (710 v., till 1967
Yamanchali), with a spur leading E and N to Mrganush (751 v., till 1945
Zohraplu), Vardashen (372 v., till 1945 Mehrablu), and Getazat (1280 v.,
till 1948 Aghjaghshlagh.) West and South from Deghdzut are Nshavan (1306
v., till 1946 Arpavar, then till 1967 Lusakert), and Byuravan (982 v., till
1945 Ghuylasar Hin), with modern church.
To Ancient Dvin (Map C)
From Dalar, a good paved road leads NE toward the ancient capital of Dvin,
passing Aygestan (1883 v. once Ayaslu and Bzovand Ghulamali) and (off to
the left) Kanachut (881 v., once Dokkuz). Hnaberd (416 v., till 1949
Kurbantepe or Toprakkale) is the closest village to the low brown hill of
decomposed mudbrick marking the citadel of Dvin* ("dvin" means "hill" in
Middle Persian), founded in the 4th c. AC by Persian King Khosrov III and
for centuries the capital and the largest and richest city of Armenia. At
its peak, Dvin's population may have surpassed 100,000, with Armenians,
Jews, Arabs, Kurds, and others living together in reasonable harmony under
a Muslim governor appointed by the Caliph in Baghdad. The Arab geographers
reported that Dvin (called Dabil in Arabic) exported a wide range of wool
and silk textiles, "Armenian wares" of a quality famous throughout the
Muslim world, some elaborately figured and dyed with cochineal.
Excavations at Dvin from the 1940s through 1970s revealed metal-working,
glass-blowing, other luxury goods, and gorgeous glazed pottery, as well as
coins from a mint that functioned at least until AD 930. The city was
walled, with multiple gates labeled for the roads they served: to Ani,
Tbilisi, Nakhichevan and beyond. The citadel was once thought to be
impregnable. Alas, time has not been kind to the site, and the intact
mudbrick structures exposed at the time of excavation have in most cases
slumped into unexpressive heaps. Much of the ancient site is presumably
unexcavated, spread out beneath the surrounding fields and villages.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 26

Turning R on a paved road before the modern village of Dvin, pass S through
the village, and enter the site on the left through the gate in a metal
fence. First monument is the massive foundation of a major 5th c. basilica,
dedicated to S. Gregory the Illuminator, with a smaller, centrally planned
church built inside it when the basilica collapsed in one of Dvin's many
earthquakes. Beyond are remains of the small S. Sargis church and a palace
(excellent column capitals), presumably the remains of the palace of the
Katholikos. From the testimony of the 10th c. Arab geographer Ibn Hawqal,
this palace became the cathedral mosque of the city. Following a path
right, one crosses a small green gully with cows to reach the old
excavation quarters, now the storage area for worked stone blocks and the
site of a small museum with excellent Persian-style glazed ceramic bowls
from Dvin’s medieval period. Left above the museum, a path leads up to the
citadel. One km S of the citadel the archaeologists found remains of a
large 5th c. market building.

Dvin's history is complex. In 572, when the Armenians rose up with

Byzantine help under Vardan Mamikonian (a later one, not the saint of
Avarayr in 451), they captured Dvin and killed the Persian marzpan Suren.
The great cathedral of S. Gregory, used by the Persians as a storehouse,
burned in the process. This uprising was quashed. Plundered by the Arabs

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 27

in 640, Dvin was captured and occupied in 654 by Habib b. Maslama, who
promised the inhabitants their lives, property, and religion so long as
they paid their taxes. Dvin became the seat of the appointed Muslim
governor or ostikan of the vast region of Arminiya. The Armenian majority
in Dvin learned Arabic (while not forgetting their Persian), and exploited
the political unity of the Caliphate to travel as merchants across the
whole Middle East. Unfortunately, this arrangement fell victim to internal
disorders of the Caliphate, and over the centuries a number of figures,
Arab, Kurdish, Turkic, or Armenian, seized and plundered the town. Dvin was
almost obliterated by a horrific earthquake in 893/4, which left 70,000
people entombed in the ruins. The city was rebuilt, and remained the seat
of the Katholikos until the 10th century.
Dvin is linked to the rise and martyrdom of Smbat I Bagratuni in 909.
Attempting to assert his control over this Armenian lord who had carved out
an effectively autonomous realm under the nominal authority of the Caliph,
the evil Arab ostikan (governor) Yusuf poisoned Smbat's son and nephew, who
had surrendered themselves to him as Smbat's allies and relatives deserted
a fading cause. Capturing Smbat himself, Yusuf had him tortured to death
in an attempt to persuade his wife and relatives to surrender the
invincible fortress of Ernjak (now in Iran) where they had taken refuge.
The mutilated body of Smbat was exposed on a cross outside Dvin, where it
allegedly worked a number of miracles. Smbat's son Ashot II Yerkat (Iron
Ashot) survived, reunited the Armenian chieftains, and established the
Bagratuni dynasty as independent emirs over most of modern-day Armenia and
Kars (though not Dvin itself).
In 951, a little group of Kurdish adventurers, the Shaddadids, moved into
Dvin as hired defenders. They ended up staying more than a century, albeit
with interruptions. According to Arab historians, the father of the great
Kurdish general Saladdin, nemesis of the Crusaders, was born near Dvin. A
bewildering series of Muslim lords succeeded the Shaddadids. Only in 1203
did a Christian army under Atabeg Ivane take and hold Dvin, just one
generation before the Mongol invasion of 1236 destroyed the city.
East are Nerkin Dvin (2011 v., till 1950 Dyugun Hay) and Verin Dvin (1627
v.), the latter notable for its population of Assyrian Christians.
Norashen (2154 v., once known as Kurdish Dvin) is S of Hnaberd.
A second road from Artashat leads to Dvin via Berdik (636 v., formerly
Bzovand Akhundi) and Verin Artashat (2902 v.). Once can also drive E past
Vostan (2253 v., till 1945 Bekjivazlu) to K'aghtsrashen (1812 v.) and Narek
(557 v., named in 1984 in honor of the poet Grigor Narekatsi), before
leading E into the mountains eventually to reach the Azat river valley.
East of Artashat are Aygepat (995 v., till 1949 Musumlu) and Aygezard (2269
v., till 1949 Darghalu, then till 1957 Anastasavan) South are the villages
of Shahumian (2917 v., till 1950 Yuva), Tap'erakan (2659 v., till recently
Kirov) and, right of the main highway, P'ok'r Vedi (2075 v., also Vedi
Nerkin), first village in the old mahal of Vedi Basar.
Khor Virap and Artaxiasata (Map C)
The road through Pokr (Little) Vedi is signposted for Khor Virap. The left
fork beyond Pokr Vedi leads to the village of Lusarat (1551 v., till 1968
Khor Virap or Shikhlar), with a conspicuous statue of one of the early 20th
c. fidayi, nationalist fighters against the Turks.
Take the right fork and drive past the extensive cemetery to the monastery
of Khor Virap* ("deep pit"), built on the side of one of a chain of low
hills looking out across the Russian-guarded border to Turkey and Mt.
Ararat. The central church, S. Astvatsatsin, dates from the end of the 17th

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 28

c. The smaller S. Gevorg church was originally constructed in 642 by

Katholikos Nerses the Builder, but has been repeatedly rebuilt. In this
second church are two deep stone cisterns, the further of which, then
garnished with serpents (or alternatively poisonous insects), is said to
have been the pit in which Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned for 13
years by the cruel king Trdat (Tiridates) III (or maybe IV – the chronology
set forth by the ancient Armenian sources makes no sense without finding
another Trdat the ancients left out). The descent into the pit, now via a
perilous metal stairway, is spiritually rewarding and generally not fatal.
(The same cannot be said about the public restrooms behind the monastery.)
After the murder of his father Chosroes by Chosroes' evil brother (or a
Persian -- the sources differ), the young Tiridates was taken to Rome to
protect him from the usurper and give him a good Roman upbringing.
Installed by the Romans on his father's throne around AD 298, after the
Romans made Greater Armenia a protectorate as one of the spoils of their
victory over the Persians in AD 297, King Tiridates "the Great" cheerfully
followed the lead of his friend the Emperor Diocletian in savagely
persecuting Christians. It is open to question whether he put Gregory in
the pit for being a Christian or for being (some sources say) the son of
his father's murderer. God ultimately punished Tiridates' misdeeds by
giving him the head of a boar in place of his own. Gregory cured the King
and was rewarded with the official conversion of Armenia to Christianity
probably in the year 314 (after the Emperor Constantine the Great made it
safe to do so) rather than in the year 301, 1700th anniversary of which
date will be celebrated with great pomp in 2001. Gregory was sent to
Caesaria to be consecrated a bishop, and he and his children and
descendants became the hereditary religious chiefs of Armenia.
Nerses the Builder is supposed to be buried in Khor Virap, along with
relics of Gregory himself. Khor Virap was an important educational center
in medieval times. Abandoned in late Persian times, it was reinhabited by
three monks from Ejmiatsin after the Russian conquest. It remains a
pilgrimage site and place for wedding photos and sheep sacrifice up to the
present day.
The hill of Khor Virap and those adjoining were the site of the important
early Armenian capital city of ancient Artashat* or Artaxiasata, built by
King Artashes I, founder of the Artashesid dynasty, around 180 BC. This
dynasty was an offshoot of the Parthian royal house, reflecting Armenia's
status then as Parthian protectorate. According to legend, the
Carthaginian general Hannibal, who spent his twilight years in flight from
a vengeful Rome, chose the site and inspired the founding of the city. In
one of the long series of wars between Rome and Parthia, Artashat was
captured by the Roman general Corbulo and razed to the ground in AD 58. In
the Roman-Parthian compromise of Rhandeia in AD 63, King Trdat (Tiridates),
the Artashesid lord of Armenia, traveled to Rome to be crowned by Nero. He
renamed the rebuilt city of Artashat "Neroneia" after his new patron, but
this name did not long survive Nero's downfall.
Though well-known in literary sources, Artashat remained long-undiscovered,
archaeologists misled by its ancient description as a spacious and well-
laid-out city located at the confluence of the Araxes and Metsamor rivers.
The course of the rivers has changed, and that confluence is now 20-odd km
further N of the city site. On the upper slopes of the hills, extensive
excavations have revealed the foundations of residential and other
structures, along with Mediterranean-style art and other traces of a rich
Hellenizing culture. Short stretches of well-preserved mud-brick
fortifications line the N slope of the third hill from the NE. Ancient
coins and potsherds can still be found, showing links with the whole

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 29

ancient world. Gregory the Illuminator led the destruction of Artashat's

famous pagan temples to the goddess Anahit and god Tir in AD 314. There was
a large Jewish community, allegedly transplanted here by Tigran the Great
from Palestine in the 1st c BC, here in the 4th century when Artashat was
ravaged by the Persian King of Kings Shapur II. The city was one of only
three customs points at which trade between the Persian and Byzantine
empires was authorized.
Armenia's capital was moved to Dvin by King Khosrov III (330-338), partly
because of the increasingly unhealthy swamps nearby. However, Artashat was
still a major town in the mid-5th century, when Persian King Yazkert
attempted to force his Armenian subjects to convert to Zoroastrianism,
according to the (late 6th c?) monk-historian Eghishe. Teams of trained
magi were sent to evangelize the Christians and build temples to Ahura
Mazda (Ormizd), including one by the city gate in Artashat. The priests
and dignitaries of Armenia met in Artashat to write their reply to
Yazkert's demands, and there two militant clerics, the priest Samuel and
deacon Abraham, destroyed the temple and desecrated the sacred fire by
dumping it in the water. Rising up under their sparapet (hereditary
military chief) Vardan Mamikonian, the Armenian nobles destroyed the
Persian garrisons, fought their way east to the Chor Pass near the Caspian
Sea, and made a (useless) alliance with the Huns. Alas, treacherous nobles
on the home front had cut a deal with Yazkert. Artashat was burned, the
churches pillaged, and Vardan Mamikonian and 1035 of his associates
martyred in the battle of Avarayr (in modern Iran) in AD 451. S. Vardan is
still a nationalist icon. After long torture and imprisonment, Samuel and
Abraham had their impious right hands cut off and were beheaded.
Vedi and Eastward (Map C, inset)
To reach the town of Vedi and follow the Vedi Chay into the hills, exit and
cross over at the first overpass after the signposted turnoff for Khor
Virap. Turn right on the old road, then immediately left (E) toward Vedi.
You pass the villages of Aygavan (2652 v. till 1945 Reghanlu), with next to
the gas station an important 4th millennium BC through 6th c. AD settlement,
and Vanashen (1668 v., till 1978 Taytan). Other nearby villages include:
Aralez (1530 v., till 1978 Gharabulagh, renamed for the "Ara-lickers,"
magic dogs that were supposed to lick the mythical hero Ara the Beautiful
back to life after Shamiram fell catastrophically in love with him);
Goravan (1506 v., previously Gorovan, Yenikend);
Nor Kyank (1618 v., founded in 1946);
Sisavan (1033 v., till 1991 Yengija);
Vosketap (3000 v., till 1991 Shirazlu), resettled in 1988 by refugees from
Azerbaijan;
Vedi Wine Factory Banavan (425 v.), housing the workers;
Nor Ughi (508 v.) used to be the “New Way Wine Factory.”
Vedi (7584 v.) reputedly houses an ethnographic museum and the headquarters
of the Khosrov Nature Reserve, director Samvel Shaboyan (Vedi telephone
21332). Given the size and importance of the Reserve, Shaboyan is a man of
considerable local stature. E past Vedi is Dashtakar (305 v., till 1968
Dashlu) and then Urtsadzor (1853 v., formerly Chimankend), with a turn S
along the Selav river toward Shaghap and S. Karapet Monastery. S of the
village is a 5-6th c. ruined basilica. There is an Early Iron Age cemetery.
Beyond Urtsadzor, the road continues E along the Vedi Chay to a metal
archway. Just beyond, the road forks, the paved road right leading up the
Vedi Chay past a sumptuous dacha belonging to the younger brother of the
late Defense Minister (and in 1999 Prime Minister) Vazgen Sargsian. Soon
after that, a dirt road left (opposite a farmhouse with a blue truck body)
ascends a beautiful stream valley (camping) toward the ruined and

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 30

uninhabited Azeri mountain village of Mankuk, with important ancient

khachkars. However, the road is closed by a gate shortly after the camping
area, and written permission is required from the Nature Preserve director
in Vedi. The main track continues past several desultory hamlets and
eventually switchbacks up and over the mountain to Martuni at the S. end of
Lake Sevan. This pass is not recommended for anyone but a well-equipped
masochist unfazed by deep mud, late snow, and multiple unpromising,
unsignposted tracks leading apparently nowhere.
The left fork (dirt) leads to a padlocked gate at the entrance to the
Reserve, with the road gradually deteriorating. However, well before that,
a rough fork left leads in a few hundred meters to a small fortified
monastery called in the guidebooks the Gevorg Marzpetuni Castle*.
Following the main (right) fork a few hundred meters inside the reserve,
there is a small mound with scattered medieval and earlier pottery. The
road follows the stream high into the mountains.
East of the highway are Avshar (2987 v., once Kyalbalavan) and then the
dusty city of Ararat (12361 v.), founded in 1920, its raison d'être the
Ararat Cement Factory, whose director Aram Sargsian was made Prime Minister
in November 1999 after the murder of his brother. Ararat also boasts a
gold ore processing plant, the massive spoil dump from which is now being
profitably exploited for residual gold by a multinational corporation.
There is allegedly a hotel and a spa attached to a mineral spring nearby.
Just west, Ararat village (5077 v., till 1935 Davalu) is the native village
of former Armenian Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsian, named Prime Minister
in June 1999 and murdered along with the whole parliamentary leadership on
October 27, 1999 by a small band of malcontents. Sargsian's brother Aram,
who replaced him as Prime Minister, continues to live there, as does his
mother. Davalu was the capital of the Vedi-Basar Mahal in Persian times, a
region that began to be repopulated with Armenians only with the Russian
conquest and exchange of populations in 1828. W of Ararat are Noyakert
(1713 v., till 1991 Khalisa), repopulated by refugees from Azerbaijan in
1988, and Yeghegnavan (1363 v.)
South from Ararat on the main road is Surenavan (1632 v., till 1946 Avshar
Mets, named after Suren Spandarian the professional revolutionary). From
Surenavan a road leads W to the Armash fishponds, which attract a
remarkable profusion of exotic birds. Armash (1541 v., founded in 1925 as
Yayji) has or had a unique Museum of Sanitary Culture, founded in 1972.
East from Yeraskh -- S. Karapet Monastery (Map C inset)
Yeraskh (684 v., formerly Arazdayan) is notable as the last village before
Nakhichevan, now the terminus of what was once the main highway and rail
connection to Meghri, Baku and beyond. Turn left (E) at the large traffic
circle. Continuing straight ahead, the road ends at a small military post
after a few hundred meters, just before the no-man's land with Azerbaijan.
Paruyr Sevak (454 v., a new settlement founded in 1978), named after the
writer Paruyr Sevak (see Zangakatun below), lies N of the road.
Tigranashen, until 1990 the Azerbaijani enclave of Kyarki, S of the road,
is now inhabited by a mixture of local Armenians and refugees from
Azerbaijan. Zangakatun (994 v., till 1948 Chanakhchi, then till recently
Sovetashen) is the birthplace (1924) and gravesite (1971, killed in an auto
accident) of the writer Paruyr Sevak, and site of his house museum. A 10th
c. chapel is nearby. Vardashat (142 v., till 1948 Ghashka) is just N.
Tucked into a fold of the Urts Range overlooking a back valley of the
Ararat region, S. Karapet Vank* (the “Forerunner” -- i.e. John the Baptist)
is a wonderfully remote and melancholy site for a picnic (shaded picnic

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 31

table). The church of 1254 (padlocked) is well preserved, with a

graveyard, ruined belltower and tumbled remains of outbuildings and a
choked cistern. The road passes broken khachkars, faint ruined farm
buildings, and hawks and harriers hunting across the sheep-cropped
hillsides. To reach the site, take the main Yeghegnadzor road 19 km from
the Yeraskh circle and turn left on the paved road just before Urtsalanj
(150 v.). Passing through Lanjar (143 v., till 1968 Pirlu), you crest a
small pass at 2.5 km, from which a clear dirt road follows the contour line
off to the left. The monastery of St. Karapet is 7.1 km along a road rocky
and steep in places, in others axle-deep in dust (or, in season) mud.
Beyond the S. Karapet turnoff, the road continues NW to Lusashogh (333 v.,
till 1978 Karakhach). Turning right at the main intersection of Lusashogh,
then left and uphill right, you reach the faint foundations of a church, of
which remains standing a shrine known by the locals as Surp Hovhannes, with
interesting artifacts and tombstones. Beyond Lusashogh, a track leads N to
Lanjanist (160 v., till 1968 Khidirli, ruined old church N of village).
Next village is Shaghap (522 v., till 1968 Shaghaplu) with a ruined 12th c.
church. The road joins the road from Vedi to the Khosrov Reserve at
Urtsadzor.

EXPLORING ARMAVIR
Armavir Marz is located in the Arax (Yeraskh in historical times) river
valley, and has some of the richest and most fertile land in Armenia, made
up of the three Soviet regions of Ejmiatsin (the basin of the lower Kasagh
river), Armavir (the Metsamor, formerly Kara Su or Sevjur --“Blackwater” --
basin), and Baghramian, the rocky western upland. Jewel in the touristic
crown is Ejmiatsin, the mother church of Armenia, with its treasury and
outlying early medieval churches, including the ruined Zvartnots Cathedral.
The Sardarapat battle monument includes a splendid, recently refurbished
ethnographic museum worth a separate visit. The Urartian/Hellenistic city
of Armavir/Argishtihinili and fortress of Aragats, and the early Iron Age
site/museum of Metsamor, are of considerable archaeological significance,
though somewhat mysterious to non-specialists.
Inhabited since the Neolithic period, and of great importance in Urartian
and Hellenistic times (Armavir and Ervandashat were ancient Armenian
capitals), under Mongol, Turkish and Persian occupation these fertile river
lands were too tempting to the conquerors, who pushed the Armenian
population into the foothills. Only around Ejmiatsin, where the Armenian
church held on to rich estates, did the Armenian people retain a majority in
the Arax valley before the 20th century population transfers. Thus, medieval
Armenian remnants are fairly sparse. Nor has Russian/Soviet rule been kind
to the monuments of Armenia’s subsequent Persian overlords.
Though flat, the country is intersected by streams, ponds and canals, with
rich bird life. Swifts dart along the road at evening, and storks soar
sternly overhead.
Ejmiatsin and Environs (Map D)
Leaving Yerevan on the airport road, a left turn at the light just after the
huge traffic circle leads to the village of Argavand. Take the right fork
at the sign “Customs Worehouse” and immediately look right. Standing on its
own is a substantial faceted stone funerary tower, one of the handful of
significant Islamic monuments remaining intact in Armenia. The lengthy
Arabic frieze inscription dated to 1413 begins with a famous Sura from the
Koran and commemorates Pir Hussein son of Sa’ad, a self-satisfied tribal
lord in Armenia during the brief period after the death of Timur Lenk when

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 32

Kara Yusuf, leader of the Turkmen Karakoyunlu (Black Sheep) tribal

confederation, was supreme ruler of much of Timur’s Persian empire. Pir
Budaq was Kara-Yusuf’s son, who briefly shared the throne with his father.
The Karakoyunlu got mixed reviews in Armenian accounts, and were in any case
soon driven out by the Akkoyunlu, or White Sheep, a rival confederation.
In the name of Allah gracious and merciful! Allah -- there is no
god besides him, alive, real; neither drowsiness nor sleep can seize
Him, He owns everything in the Heavens and on the Earth. Who will
plead, except with His permission? He knows what was before them and
what will be after them, while they perceive nothing from His
knowledge other than He wishes. His throne embraces the heavens and
the earth, and He is not burdened by guarding them. Indeed Great and
High is He.
Ordered to build this blessed tomb (kubba) the greatest, the noblest,
abundant in generosity and magnanimity, the support of kings and
sultans, refuge for the weak and the poor, guardian of scientists and
those who seek knowledge, aid to the poor and wayfarers, the glory of
the state and the faith, Emir Pir-Hussein, son of the late absolved
Emir elevated to His [Allah's] patronage, the most merciful Emir
Sa'ad, -- may the soil lie light upon him -- in the days of reign of
the Great Sultan, the most generous Khakan, the Sultan of Sultans in
the East and the West, the aid of the state and the faith, Pir Budaq
Khan and Yusuf Noyon, -- may Allah perpetuate their power, on the
fifteenth of Radzhab of the year 816 [October 11, 1413].
Back on the airport road, next is the village of P'arakar (5329 voters,
once called Shirabad) with gypsum mine, S. Mariam Astvatsatsin, S. Harutyun
church of 1855). Next is Musaler (1531 v., renamed in 1972 for the heroic
Armenian resistance at Musa Dagh in Turkey in 1915), Ptghunk (1185 v) and
Zvartnots (“Place of Angels”). Marked on the highway (S) by an ornamental
gateway and backward-looking eagle, the massive, centrally planned church of
Zvartnots S. Grigor Lusavorich* would have been a marvel in any case, though
scholars disagree on how to restore the ruined foundations. The wedding-
cake restoration in most tourist books, three stories high with gallery, is
unprecedented and probably incorrect. The church was built by Katholikos
Nerses III (641-662) to house the relics of St. Gregory the Illuminator,
presumably where he converted King Trdat/Tiridates in 301 or (more likely)
314 AD. Beyond the church, which shows signs of North Syrian influence and
which has some interesting sculpted decorations, are remains of Nerses’
palace and a winepress, with a tiny (closed) museum. Behind the winepress
is a small Chalcolithic tell. In front of the museum is a 7th c. cuneiform
inscription of Urartian King Rusa II commemorating the construction of a
canal from the Hrazdan (“Ildaruni”) River.
The Monastery of Surp Ejmiatsin** (“The Descent of the Only-Begotten” in
traditional etymology) is surrounded by the city of the same name, now
officially renamed Vagharshapat (36956 v) after its 2nd century AC founder,
King Vagharshak. The city may also be identical with Kainepolis (“New
City”) founded as a replacement for the ruined Artashat by King
Sohaemus/Tigran, who was twice installed on the throne by Roman armies,
first by Antoninus Pius (lasting from 144-161 AC) and then by Marcus
Aurelius (164-186). Two Roman inscriptions, now in the State Historical
Museum, document the presence of a Roman garrison in Ejmiatsin, almost but
not quite the remote edge of Rome’s military extension to the Caucasus (one
centurion carved his name at Gobustan on the Caspian). One of these
inscriptions was put up by a tribune of the 15th Legion in memory of his wife
and daughter. The city's common name in early modern times was Üch-Kilise
or "Three Churches," named for the most prominent features of the local
landscape.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 33

Entrance to the monastery is by turning left from the main traffic circle
inside the town. The Mother Temple (Mayr Tachar) was begun in the 4th
century, built on the ruins of a pagan cult site, but it has been heavily
restored through the centuries, most thoroughly in the 17th c. Displacing a
rival mother church at Ashtishat in Western Armenia, Ejmiatsin has been seat
of the Katholikos in the 4th and 5th centuries and again since 1441. As such,
and as the seat of the miraculous relics of the Armenian church -- the
Lance, the hand of St. Gregory the Illuminator, the hand of the Apostle
Thaddeus, a finger of St. Jude, a drop of St. Hripsime's blood, etc. -- it
came to control vast estates and received rich gifts from around the
Armenian world. The Treasury, which houses some of this largesse, and steps
down to sparse remains of the purported Persian fire temple, are reached
through the church, right of the altar. English-speaking deacons are
available as guides, but contributions are expected. Opposite the entrance
to the church and through the is the Palace of the Katholikos, with a
smaller treasury not open to the public. There is a newly rebuilt
theological school (Chemaran) on the grounds. One famous graduate was
Aghasi Khanjian, Armenia's First Secretary from 1930-36.
Ejmiatsin has received many eminent visitors over the centuries. The
Reverends Smith and Dwight, after a chilly welcome based on the
misapprehension that they were on the same baleful errand as their Swiss
missionary colleagues in Shushi, spent four days over November 19-23, 1830,
as far as they knew the first Americans ever to come there. They described
the walled monastery and the town itself: "a crowded collection of mud
cabins, perhaps 500 in number." They never met the aging Katholikos Eprem,
but had a pleasant conversation with his secretary Hovhannes, the only monk
of the place who knew Russian. They noted snidely the wealth of the decor:
"The protestant Chardin and the papal Tournefort unite in testifying that
much of this wealth has come from the pope in the form of bribes for the
conversion of the Katholikos; and now remains a monument of the credulity of
the one, and the deception of the other." Visiting a bishop's apartments,
Smith wrote, "Everything had an air of ease, if not of luxury, little
corresponding with the ideas usually entertained of the cell of a monk, and
confirming what we in other ways learned, that the leading inmates of this
establishment practice few of the self-denials for which their profession is
reputed."
The eminent historian Edward Gibbon, writing Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire from Lausanne at the end of the 18th century, had heard more positive
reports:
"...the zeal of the Armenians is fervent and intrepid; they have often
preferred the crown of martyrdom to the white turban of Mohammed; they
devoutly hate the error and idolatry of the Greeks; and their
transient union with the Latins is not less devoid of truth than the
thousand bishops whom their patriarch offered at the feet of the Roman
pontiff. (Gibbon's footnote: See a remarkable fact of the twelfth
century in the History of Nicetas Choniates (p. 258). Yet three
hundred years before, Photius (Epistol. ii. p. 49, edit. Montacut.)
had gloried in the conversion of the Armenians.) The catholic, or
patriarch, of the Armenians resides in the monastery of Ekmiasin,
three leagues from Erivan. Forty seven archbishops, each of whom may
claim the obedience of four or five suffragans, are consecrated by his
hand; but the far greater part are only titular prelates, who dignify
with their presence and service the simplicity of his court. As soon
as they have performed the liturgy, they cultivate the garden; and our
bishops will hear with surprise that the austerity of their life
increases in just proportion to the elevation of their rank."

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 34

The French/Russian scholar Marie-Felicite Berge shivered for the better part
of 40 days in Ejmiatsin in January 1848, a prisoner of that winter's extreme
cold. He provided a detailed description of the manuscript collection,
drawing from the first catalogue prepared at the insistence of then-
Archbishop Nerses of Ashtarak. Berge reported that outside the Cathedral, S
of the bell tower was an inscription in Greek, Persian and English marking
the cenotaph of Lt. Col. Sir John MacDonald, who expired in Tabriz in 1830
as envoy of British India to the Shah of Persia. MacDonald had earned a
certain amount of gratitude for his help in 1828 in mediating the Russo-
Persian Treaty of Turkmanchay, ceding Armenia to Russia.
In 1830 according to Shopen, Ejmiatsin housed the Katholikos, 12 archbishops
and bishops, 26 archimandrites and monks, 14 archdeacons, 9 protodeacons,
and eight acolytes, half the monastic population of the former Khanate of
Yerevan. British Colonel Herbert Chermside visited Ejmiatsin in 1888 and
wrote, "I heard great complaints as to the profligacy of the celibate
Bishops and monks of Etchmiadzin. In Turkey the Armenians have a safeguard
against this in their habit of surrounding and surprising houses where the
ecclesiastics are supposed to be taking advantage of their privileges to
debauch the women, but this species of lynch law is not allowed by the
police in Russia."
There are three other major early churches in town: First is S. Hripsime
Church of 618, built to the right of the main road on the traditional site
of this martyr’s tomb -- traditionally, she and her virgin followers came
escaping persecution in Rome and were put to death by King Tiridates; her
relics were allegedly pilfered in the 17th century by two Latin monks, but
then recovered, except for fragments which by 1830 had reached churches in
Venice, Goa in India, Nakhichevan, and Galata in Constantinople. S. Gayane
church of 630 was also built on the site of Gayane’s martyrdom. Shoghakat
church of 1694 was built by Prince Aghamal Shorotetsi on the site of an
early chapel to one of S. Hripsime’s companions. Near Shoghakat is a small,
ruined single-aisle chapel of the 5-6th c. Because the Armavir diocese,
founded in 1996 on creation of the marz, has no church or bishop’s residence
in the marz capital of Armavir city, the Bishop currently operates out of
Ejmiatsin’s S. Astvatsatsin church (1767). In 1998 there were only eight
working churches and 13 priests to serve Armavir Marz’s official population
of 315,000.
Vagharshapat also claims a hotel, the museums of local artists Manuk
Abeghian and Hovhannes Hovhannisian,, and the gallery of Khoren Harutian.
Just S of Ejmiatsin is the tell of Teghut, a Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age
settlement excavated and published by archaeologist Rafik Torosian.
About four km S of Ejmiatsin, about 150 m W of the main S road to Margara
just before a railroad embankment, is a low hill behind a little hamlet,
surrounded by an iron fence (gaps in NE side). This is the Chalcolithic
(late 4th Mill. BC) through Hellenistic (4th-1st c. BC) site of Mokhrablur
(“Ash Hill”). There are 8 meters of deposits representing 12 distinct
habitation layers. Very little is visible, beyond one huge stone block and
a wide range of pottery fragments. The Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia makes
the daring claim that Mokhrablur’s central temple, which they say dates to
the 10th c. but actually seems to be of the 1st half of the 3rd millennium BC,
was the earliest known example of monumental stone architecture in the
Soviet Union.
North from Zvartnots are: Norakert (1738 v, founded 1946) and Baghramian
(1541 v, founded 1947), named in honor of Hero of the Soviet Union and later
Marshal Hovhannes (Ivan) Baghramian (born in Chardakhlu village of
Yelizavetpol, now Ganja region in Azerbaijan in 1897). The village has a
church and S. Sargis shrine built 1997. Further E are Aygek (779 v),

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 35

founded in 1946 to house immigrants from Iran, and Merdzavan (2150 v),
founded in 1947 and home of various agricultural institutes.
South of Zvartnots are Voskehat (1645 v, formerly Patr'inj), and Arevashat
(1098 v, till 1946 Varmazyar) with a church and 19th c. Tukh Manuk (“Dark
Baby”) shrine.
The Northeast Corner -- Aghavnatun and Targmanchats (Map D)
At the entrance to Ejmiatsin, the main highway angles right to bypass the
city. The first paved road on the right leads to a tall stone pillar, a
monument erected in 1833 in the presence of the visiting Czar Nicholas I to
commemorate the 1131 Russian soldiers who fell nearby at the so-called
battle of Oshakan on August 17, 1827 “defending Holy Ejmiatsin” against the
Persian army. In April 1827, the Russian army, accompanied by the energetic
Archbishop Nerses of Ashtarak (the future Katholikos Nerses V), had occupied
the Holy See, which had been since 1822 in moribund condition, the unworldly
Katholikos Eprem having taken refuge in Karabakh and then Haghpat Monastery
(already in Russian territory) to avoid voracious Persian debt collectors.
A large Persian army under Abbas Mirza, son of the Shah of Persia, was
advancing against the walled but sparsely-garrisoned monastery, when General
Krasovskii, dividing his forces (which included Armenian auxiliaries),
rushed to the defense, cutting his way through the Persians at enormous
loss, while Nerses brandished the Holy Spear from the battlements. Though
Krasovskii was criticized for losing most of his force, his action may well
have saved the Russian campaign, not to mention the life of the pro-Russian
Nerses, who had already in 1810 narrowly escaped being blown apart by one of
Hassan Khan’s cannon in retribution for his complaints of the Church’s ill-
treatment at Persian hands. The battle also spawned an Armenian folk-hero.
Hakob Harutyunian, gunner in the Persian army, won a name in Armenian
history books for pointing his cannon at his own army. He was horribly
tortured by the irritated Persians, losing his eyes, nose, lips, etc, but
survived to collect a Russian imperial pension. (Note, however, that Nerses’
own recommendation for the pension says Harutyunian had crossed over to the
Russians with information about Abbas Mirza’s plans, a less colorful action
than fratricide but perhaps also less likely to make a Russian officer
squeamish.)
The spur road then curves W to join the road N from Ejmiatsin to Mrgastan
(829 v, till 1935 Hajjilar, with S. Hovhannes church built 1912) and beyond.
Back toward Ejmiatsin, only 50 m E of the road to Oshakan, is Shresh Blur, a
Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age settlement. Next village is Shahumian (796 v,
renamed from Mullah Dursun ["Let the Mullah Stop"?] in 1935 for the martyred
Baku Commissar) and the nearby Shahumiani Poultry Factory (669 v). N is
Dasht (“Field”, 556 v, founded 1926). In the vicinity (N and left of road?)
is a 1st millennium BC cyclopean fort called “Ardar Davit” (David the Just)
by locals.
Angling left from Dasht, once reaches Aigeshat (1100 v, until 1935
Hajighara, mixed Armenian/Kurdish), which has (turn right at the SE edge of
town) the badly ruined Targmanchats (“Translators”) Vank of the 7th c., and
maybe also a S. Gevorg church of the 18th c. and, on a hill nearby, an early
tower. West of Aigeshat is Amberd (800 v, till 1978 Frankanots), with a
Tovmas Arakeal (Thomas the Apostle) church of the 12th c. and Poghos-Petros
church of 19th c.
A further turnoff from the main Ejmiatsin bypass leads NW to Tsaghkunk (794
v, till 1946 Abdurahman), with S. Astvatsatsin church of 19th c, restaurant;
NW is Mkhltapa Neolithic tell. Next come Hovtamej (687 v., once Mughanjik,
with 19th c. church), and Tsiatsan (“Rainbow”) (714 v, till 1978 Gerampa),
with ruined S. Astvatsatsin church. Further N is Doghs (767 v), site of a

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 36

glorious victory here in 894 of Smbat I Bagratuni over the invading Emir
Apshin of Atrapatakan. Doghs has a S. Stepanos church built in the 19th c.
Further W, opposite the turnoff for Taronik/Metsamor, a signposted road
leads NE to Arshaluys (“Dawn”, 2548 v, till 1935 Kyorpalu), with S.
Astvatsatsin church built 1903-09; fort, restaurant; S. Karapet
shrine/pilgrimage site of 14-18th c. 2 km S. Next village is Haytagh (1686
v, church of 19th c.). A small road bears left to Ferik (227 v), named in
honor of the revolutionary and poet Ferik Polatbekov, while the main road
continues N to Samaghar (1862 v, also called Geghakert, S. Harutyun church
of 13th c.), and Tsaghkalanj (944 v, till 1978 Aghjaghala), with a S. Gevorg
church of the 1870s. Nearby are Bronze Age grave mounds and, to the NE,
Amenaprkich medieval settlement with graveyard. The Neolithic-Chalcolithic
tell site of Aghjaghala is on the E side of the village.
Continuing north, one reaches the village of Aragats (1817 v, Armenians and
Kurds, till 1946 Khznauz), with a S. Stepanos church of 1870. To reach the
Urartian fortress/settlement just SW of the village, turn left from the
large building festooned with storks’ nests on the W side of the main road,
then right following the asphalt road, then take the second dirt road left
to where it becomes impassible. The rough walls of the site are visible,
embedded in a rocky 10 m high mound. Total area of this important early 7th
c defensive site is about 10-15 acres.
Entering from the S. the village of Aghavnatun (1975 v), there are sparse
remains of an Iron Age cyclopean fort. On the left of the road entering the
village from the S is a ruined medieval princely tomb of 13th c., chapel and
graveyard surrounding. There are remains of four churches: S. Astvatsatsin
church of 1876, S. Gevorg of 10th c; Tsiranavor of 14th c; Karmravor; S.
Karapet churches; and reportedly a restaurant. Turning left (N) on a paved
road at the N end of town, a dusty road leads through a major tuff quarry
(prehistoric graveyard below) to a hilltop with a prominent circular tower*.
Build of massive stones, with a tiny entrance, this tower commands a
sweeping view and may have served as a watchtower or, perhaps, as a
Zoroastrian funeral site (cf. Parsee “towers of silence” in India). In any
case, no finds are associated with the tower, which is undated. Next
village N, Lernamerdz (286v, once Ayarlu) once also had a restaurant.
Metsamor and Environs (Map D)
Passing Ejmiatsin on the E bypass, 2 km past the overpass is on the left a
conspicuous monument to 7 Yugoslav (now Serbian) aviators killed in December
1988 when their plane, carrying relief supplies to the December 7 Gyumri-
Spitak earthquake victims, crashed in a field. Behind the monument, a small
mound and water-worn stones mark a Bronze Age (but marked on the sign as 5-
4th millennium BC) occupation site, partly covered now by a little shed that
has become a local shrine.
The skyline is dominated by the four cooling towers of the Metsamor Armenian
Nuclear Power Plant. The nuclear plant, not open to the public, still
generates about 40% of Armenia’s electricity. Though neither of the two
reactor units suffered damage in the December 1988 earthquake, they were
shut down in response to domestic political pressure as inherently unsafe.
Unit Two was reopened in 1996, with loans from Russia and subsequent safety
assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy and the International Atomic
Energy Agency. As a further safety measure, the plant management brought
Katholikos Garegin I to bless a new chapel in the plant’s main
administrative building in 1997. The Government of Armenia pledged under
international pressure to shut the reactors down permanently by the end of
2004, but is likely to renege unless financing is found to build safer new
reactors and keep its nuclear power sector employed.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 37

About 6.1 km after the Ejmiatsin overpass, about two km before the Metsamor
reactor, shortly after a gas station, an unsignposted road leads left in 3
km to Taronik (1370 v, once Zeyva Turkakan), rich in storks’ nests. Turning
right in the village, the left after 500 meters, the paved road leads to a
substantial mound 1 km W of Taronik, the site of the Chalcolithic through
Early Iron Age settlement of Metsamor*, with a small but rich archaeological
museum* attached. Excavations were resumed in 1998 with funding from the
nuclear plant (which pumps its cooling water from next door) in a vain
effort to locate a gate (and preferably an inscription giving the ancient
name) in the lower defensive wall. The summit of the mound has an early
first millennium BC sanctuary, and there are important remains of pits used
for gravitational separation of iron from slag. A little SW is a hill with
3rd millennium BC carvings on the rock indicating the direction of the rising
of Sirius. The museum has a treasury in the basement exhibiting jewelry
from chamber tombs around the site, and upstairs rooms display the full
sequence of Armenian prehistoric pottery, including splendid black and red
burnished vases. A visit to the site can be followed by jogging NW to
Aknalich (1558 v). The small lake between Metsamor and Aknalich, for which
the latter village is named, is one of the sources of the Metsamor river,
fed by underground springs. The lake is overlooked by a pleasant
restaurant.
Nearby villages include Aratashen (1743 v, till 1978 Zeyva Hayi, church of
1870, S of village is Neolithic-Chalcolithic tell), Khoronk (1489 v, S.
Nshan church of 1880), and Artimet (1133 v, once Ali-Begli, then till
recently Atarbekian, S. Grigor Lusavorich church of 1876). Further south by
the railroad are Zartonk (1111 v, originally with Yeghegnut), Yeghegnut
(1043 v, until 1947 Ghamishlu, before then Sefiabad), and Artashar (480 v).
W of Aknalich, the new city of Metsamor (7698 v, hotel) rises on the right.
It was incorporated in 1979, designed to house workers for the nuclear power
plant.
Sardarapat and Ancient Armavir (Map D)
On reaching the Marz capital of Armavir (27747 v, till recently
Hoktemberian), the main road passes under a large red stone overpass.
Turning right before the overpass, one enters the city, passing on the right
the Armavir Cognac factory. Armavir also boasts a hotel, restaurants, and a
private zoo/botanical garden.
To reach Sardarapat, pass underneath the overpass and immediately turn right
and back up and over the railroad lines. The road will jog right, then
left, passing through the village of Norapat (2022 v, since 1967 part of
Hoktemberian/Armavir) and become the wide main road leading straight to
Sardarapat battle monument and museum. First village is Hoktember (3785 v,
till 1935 Sardarapat, church). Turning right on the paved road in the
village (W toward the village of Dzerzhinski), somewhere on the right before
the cemetery is the site of the important Persian fortress of Sardari Berd.
This was built around 1810 with British technical assistance by Sardar
Hosein Qoli Khan, last and best of the Persian governors of the Erevan
Khanate, using stones taken from the ruins of ancient Armavir, some still
bearing traces of cuneiform inscriptions. Used as administrative center for
the Sardarapat district and summer residence of the Khan of Erevan, the
fortress was taken by the Russians under General Paskevich in 1828, despite
stout defense by Khan Hasan, Hosein’s brother. Almost no trace of the
fortress is left, this remnant of foreign rule having been dismantled to
build Soviet Armenia.
On this side road is Dzerzhinski (1050 v), a former state farm founded in
1946 in honor of Felix Dzerzhinski (1877-1926), Lenin’s Secret Police chief
and hero in the ceaseless war against counterrevolutionary traitors and

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 38

saboteurs. Also, the village of Lenughi (1022 v), till 1946 Aghlanli Nerkin
or Yasakhli, with S. Nshan church from 1870s.
Back on the Sardarapat road, Araks (1012 v) was founded in 1940 as a state
farm. Just beyond on a low ridge is the battle monument of Sardarapat*,
commemorating the Armenian defeat of an invading Turkish army, May 20-22,
1918. The Turks, coming south down the railroad from Alexandropol (Gyumri),
were pushed back, giving the wavering Armenian provisional government the
encouragement to declare the independent Republic of Armenia on May 28,
1918. The monument is guarded by massive Assyrian-style winged lions, and
is flanked by a memorial garden for Karabakh martyrs. Bearing left before
the monument, a driveway skirts the monument ridge to reach a tourist
pavilion (refreshments) and the highly attractive Sardarapat museum**.
Director (at least of the military museum) is the head (since the untimely
1999 death of Sergei Grigorevich Badalian) of the Armenian Communist Party.
The ground floor central hall contains commemorative material from the
battle. Starting from the right, the lower galleries present archaeological
materials from Neolithic to Medieval, and implements for various traditional
handicrafts. Upstairs are exhibits of carpets and embroidery, modern
Armenian decorative ceramics, and jewelry.
The main road SW jogs right, skirting the Sardarapat hill and passing
turnoffs for the mostly modern villages of Amasia (577 v, founded 1930), and
Hushakert (L) (537 v, till 1968 Shah-Varut), Bagaran (R), Nor Kesaria (807
v, founded 1949 as a geranium-oil extracting sovkhoz), Shenavan (1119 v,
till 1946 Kolagarkh), Getashen (1651 v, till 1946 Jafarabad, S. Harutyun
church) and Berkashat (409 v, founded 1928). Continuing straight, one soon
reaches the Russian-controlled border zone check-point, closed to foreigners
without advance permission.
The excavated remains of Arghishtihinili/Ancient Armavir spread over two
volcanic hills and the intervening ridge which rise out of the river plain.
Site of an Armenian capital city in antiquity, the ruins are now a series of
low stone walls and decaying mudbrick, strewn with ancient pottery fragments
and the occasion ancient coin. On the S edge of Nor Armavir, a paved road
runs E to the unprepossessing chapel and pilgrimage site of S. Davit,
rebuilt in 1833 on a foundation of ancient boulders. The entire ridge above
the church is occupied by the massive walls of the Urartian city of
Argishtihinili, founded ca. 776 BC by Argishti I, who added the Arax valley
and much of the rest of modern Armenia to his empire based near Lake Van. A
cuneiform inscription discovered at the site says, “For the greatness of god
Khaldi, Argishti son of Menua, speaks. I built a majestic fortress and gave
it a name from my own, Argishtihinili. The earth was wilderness: nothing
was built there. Out of the rivers I built four canals; the vineyards and
the orchards were divided. I accomplished many heroic deeds there.” There
are still substantial remains of mud brick walls visible in the scarp, and
an ample scattering of potsherds, some decorated, from the Iron Age to the
Late Medieval period.
The Hellenistic city of Armavir, capital of the Orontid dynasty from the 4th-
2nd c BC, was centered on the taller, steeper volcanic hill about 2 km
further E. Easiest approach is, from modern Armavir, crossing the overpass
and then jogging left and (after 100 m) right toward Haikavan (signposted
“Margara”). About 300 m after the road bears left, a right turn will take
you to the S side of the hill. Though Armavir was replaced as capital first
by Ervandashat and then by Dvin, it maintained substantial habitation
through the Medieval period, judging from the glazed pottery fragments still
to be found. There is a substantial temple platform on the summit, and
extensive house walls on the W side. Somewhere on the S slope outside the
wall, 7 inscriptions in ancient Greek were carved into two rock faces about
12 meters apart, a reminder of Hellenistic influence on the Orontid kings.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 39

These inscriptions, probably carved around 200 BC, include a snatch of

poetry regarding the Archaic Greek poet Hesiod, a pastiche of lines from
Euripides, a list of Macedonian months, and some fragmentary letter texts.
At the base of the hill is a small, modern cave-shrine marked by an iron
cross.
In the vicinity are a thick cluster of farming villages. Bambakashat (“Lots
of cotton”) (2075 v, once Mullah-Bayazid) has S. Astvatsatsin church, on
medieval foundations but according to the inscription over the door built in
1914 and restored in 1991. Others, in no particular order, are: Mrgashat
(3630 v, once Gechrli, with Bronze Age site of Gharatapa nearby); Armavir
(2105 v, till 1935 Ghrdghuli/Kurdu-Kuli) S. Astvatsatsin church, find spot
of cuneiform inscriptions of Urartian King Sarduri; Nor Armavir (1168 v,
founded 1923); Haykavan (939 v, till 1946 T'apadibi, church); Nalbandian
(2839 v, formerly Shahriar, church); Nor Artagers (982 v); Janfida (2194 v,
its old name); Jrashen (464 v, founded 1928); Tandzut (1177 v, formerly
Armutlu, S. Sahak church built 1912); Sovetakan (1099 v, till 1935 Karim-
Arkh); Pshatavan (1244 v, formerly Igdali) Aygeshat (1135 v, till 1950
Ghuzigidan) S. Gevorg church; Arevik (1601 v., formerly Aghja-Arkh) has a
hill with Early Bronze Age settlement on the road toward Armavir village.
Southwestern Armavir (advance permission required)
Nestled into the angle of the Arax and Akhurian rivers is a bleak volcanic
landscape, the former Sa'adli mahal. At the time of the Russian conquest,
this area was home to nomadic Turkmen tribes, but in early Armenian times it
was a significant center. Continuing past the Sardarabad monument and
turning right (NW) toward Bagaran, one passes the village of Vanand (479 v,
founded 1984 from a sovkhoz), then turnings for Shenik (476 v, founded
1971) and Koghbavan (70 v), before reaching another Russian border troop
checkpoint which bars the way for foreigners to the villages of Yervandashat
(405 v, formerly Kheyri-Begli, 4-5th c. ruined basilica, S. Shushanik church
of the 10-17th c) and Bagaran (406 v, formerly Haji-Bayramli). Between the
two villages, on the ridge overlooking the Akhurian river at its confluence
with the Arax, is the 3rd c. BC city of Ervandashat, founded by King Orontes
(Eruand) IV, last of the Orontid dynasty as a new capital to replace Armavir
which, according to Armenia’s “Father of History” Movses Khorenatsi, had
been left dry by a shift of the Arax river. In addition to remains of
fortifications, brief archaeological researches in the 1980s reportedly
revealed traces of the ancient gardens and palaces attested by Movses. On
the Akhurian river are traces of the ancient bridge connecting Ervandashat
to the fortress of Ervandakert built by the same ruler on the opposite bank
of river. The village of Bagaran was until 1935 called Haji Bairam, then
until 1968 Bakhchalar, with a mixed Armenian/Turkish population. Many of
its inhabitants stemmed from ancient Bagaran across the Akhurian river, also
founded by Orontes IV as his religious center. In a grove of plane trees
near ancient Bagaran, Armenia’s pre-Christian priests foretold the future
from the rustling of the leaves.
Southeastern Armavir (Map D)
A good paved road leads south from Ejmiatsin to the Turkish border crossing
point at Margara, now closed. The road passes Mokhrablur (see above) and a
series of farming villages. Griboyedov (1459 v, till 1978 Aralikh
Kyolanlu) is named after the Russian writer/diplomat Alexander Sergeyich
Griboyedov, who first visited Armenia in 1819, then returned as General
Paskevich’s chief diplomat to take part in the Russian conquest of Armenia
and Treaty of Turkmanchay. Appointed Plenipotentiary Minister to Tehran, he
was murdered along with the rest of the Russian Embassy staff by a Persian
mob in 1829. There is an inscription on the wall of the Yerevan Wine
factory, former site of the Erevan fortress, commemorating the first staging

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 40

of one of his plays in December 1827, in the defeated Persian Khan’s palace.
SW of the village is a Chalcolithic tell.
Next come Aknashen (1054 v, till 1978 Khatunarkh Verin, with S. Bardughimeos
church; SW of village is ruin of 8th c. building); Gay (2222 v, founded in
the 1670s as Khatunarkh after the wife of Sefi Khan, renamed in 1978 with
the nom de guerre of Russian Civil War hero Hayk Bzhshkian), with S. Nshan
church built 1888-92, and remains of a 6th-2nd millennium BC settlement just
E; Haykashen (837 v, till 1967 Gharashirin or Gharabasar); Metsamor (not the
ancient site or the power plant, with 639 v, till 1946 Ghamarlu); Araks
(1102 v, till 1946 Sharifabad or Nerkin Gharkhun, some Kurds); and Jrarat
(1742 v, formerly Gharkhun) founded 1918 from Surmalu; special reserve for
Vordan Karmir (“Worm Red”) beetles, Porphyrophora hamelii Brandt, females of
which, properly boiled, produced the famous bright red Armenian cochineal
dye, an important export and state secret in ancient times. The beetles
depend on special vegetation, and their habitat has been threatened by the
expansion of fish farming and intensive mechanized agriculture. Jrarat also
has a poultry factory with 682 registered voters in 1998.
The road leads W to Lusagyugh (615 v, until 1935 Turkmanlu), birthplace of
Soviet Hero N. A. Darbinian; thence Apaga (“Future”, 1075 v, some Kurds,
till 1935 part of Turkmanlu); and Yeraskhahun (884 v, founded 1920, till
1950 Kuru Araz), which boasts a sand quarry. Running W along the border are
Vardanashen (650 v, formerly Chibukhchi); Margara (932 v, in 1830 Margara-
Gök), with the customs point locked and desolate and the Turkish flag flying
at the far end of the road bridge over the Arax; Arazap (870 v, till 1947
Evjilar) S. Astvatsatsin church; and Argavand (1284 v, till 1947 Uzunoba).
North of Armavir City
Counterclockwise from E of Armavir are the former state farms of Zhdanov
(1147 v, until 1953 Sovkhoz #2), named after Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov,
1896-1948, Colonel-General, PolitBuro member, and Central Committee
secretary for ideology; Noravan (722 v); Lukashin (1554 v, founded 1922), a
Sovkhoz renamed in 1957 for Sargis Lukashin (Srapionian) 1883-1937, Russian-
born President of the Armenian Council of People’s Commissars and an all-
Union economic figure; Khanjian (1265 v), a Sovkhoz founded in 1957, named
in honor of Aghasi Khanjian, First Secretary of the Armenian Communist Party
from 1930 until 1936. Born in Van in 1901, later a theological student in
Ejmiatsin, Khanjian became as early as 1917 a leading member of Yerevan's
Communist youth movement. After Sovietization, Khanjian was sent to Moscow
for higher socialist education, then shipped back to Armenia in 1928 to put
the local Party back on track. In July 1936, after fierce criticism by the
TransCaucasus Party plenum for his nationalist deviation and toleration of
Trotskyites, Khanjian experienced a fatal gunshot wound in the Tbilisi
office of Lavrenti Beria, a man who tolerated no rivals in the Caucasus.
Patriotic even in death, Khanjian transported himself to his hotel room,
where his official suicide was attributed to despondency at his political
failings and poor health. Khanjian and many of his fellows were
posthumously rehabilitated and credited with much of Armenia’s Soviet-era
economic progress.
West from Armavir
On the main road W from Armavir, first village is Hatsik (1517 v, founded
in 1933, called Nairi from 1963 till 1991); then Myasnikian (2685 v, named
after the first Prime Minister of Soviet Armenia), with an Amenaprkich (All-
Savior) church built in 1997. Dalarik (2488 v, till 1965 Mastara), was
founded in 1902 when the railroad was under construction. The village of
Lernagog (1299 v, until 1978 “the community attached to the pig-farming
Sovkhoz”) is on a spur N. Karakert (2906 v) supposedly has an Iron Age
fortress nearby. End of the road is the remote hamlet of Argina (242 v),

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 41

not to be confused with the 10th c. monastery of that name, further north
across the Akhurian river in Turkey.
From Myasnikian, a road runs WSW to Baghramian (481 v), purpose-built in
1983 as capital of the Baghramian region, despite its lack of history or
characteristics. Somewhere before Baghramian, a road may run S to the
settlements of Artamet (99 v), Arevadasht (160 v), and Talvorik (151 v).

EXPLORING GEGHARKUNIK
Gegharkunik Marz, comprised of the four former rayons of Sevan, Martuni,
Vardenis, and Krasnosyelsk, is dominated by Lake Sevan and the watershed of
the numerous streams that flow into it and out down the Hrazdan River to
the Arax. The Marz also includes the separate basin of the Getik River,
which flows N to the Aghstev and joins ultimately the Kura river in
Azerbaijan. The Sevan basin is windswept, treeless and austere, but with
stunning skies, an ever-changing lake surface, and a rich history. All
around the lake are the tumbled stone remains of Bronze and Iron Age
fortifications and towns, and little boulder clumps marking vast fields of
prehistoric burials with superb burnished pottery.
Lake Sevan enters recorded history with the Urartians. King Rusa I seems
to have conquered the Sevan basin and made it the eastern frontier of the
kingdom of Urartu sometime around 720 BC. A number of boundary markers of
Artashes I written in Aramaic, the Middle Eastern lingua franca, show the
presence of the Arsacid dynasty in Hellenistic times. In medieval times,
Gegharkunik was dominated by the Dopian clan.
At the time of the Russian conquest in 1828, Gegharkunik’s population was
almost entirely Muslim, much of it Kurdish or Turkmen transhumant tribes.
Many of the villages on the N side of the lake were founded by Russian
schismatics, Molokans and their ecstatic offshoot the Priguni or "Jumpers."
A relatively compact Muslim population remained in the villages of the
Vardenis region until the reciprocal ethnic cleansing that took place from
1988-92.
Approaching Sevanavank (Maps H, E)
Gagarin, an industrial town founded in 1955 and named after the cosmonaut
Yuri Gagarin in 1961, is the first settlement reached in Gegharkunik, left
of the main Sevan highway. Sevan (17643 v), till 1935 Elenovka, named after
the wife of Czar Nicholas I, was founded in 1842 by exiled Molokans,
Russian schismatics, and the town remained all Russian till the end of the
19th c. Sevan is known for its 1000-bed psychiatric hospital. One km N is
the cyclopean fortress of Metsep. On a hill just south of the village of
Tsamakaberd, just E of Sevan town, is a cyclopean fortress.
Turning back west on the old Hrazdan road from the town of Sevan, one first
reaches Varser (1134 v, till 1946 Chrchr), first noted in the 9th c., a
village given by Ashot II Bagratuni to an Apostles’ Church. According to a
picturesque popular etymology, the name Varser (from a root meaning “hair”)
derives from a girl who fell in the lake and drowned, her long hair
spreading out across the water. Next is Geghamavan (1154 v), till 1946
Shahriz, founded from Maku in 1830s, with church/shrine ruins in E part of
village. Next comes Tsaghkunk (625 v), then Ddmashen (1610 v), founded
1828 from Maku, with S. Tadevos the Apostle church of the 7th c. on the E
side. Zovaber (928 v, till 1978 Yayji) is the first village reached in
Gegharkunik on the old road from Hrazdan to Sevan. Its residents came from
Maku in 1830. There is a S. Stepanos church built in 1860.
As Lake Sevan (formerly Gökcha, but renamed after the monastery) comes into
view at 1890 m, it is important to remember that since the mid-1930s the

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 42

water level has dropped some 19 m, turning Sevan Island into a peninsula
and creating a series of flat shelves and gravelly beaches around the lake.
Under Stalin, Soviet engineers had concluded that Sevan’s large surface
area meant wasteful evaporation. They decided to reduce the surface area
of the lake to one-sixth is original size, farming the new land at the S
end and using the excess water for hydropower and irrigation. Public
outcry and the realization that completing the plan would turn the Sevan
basin into a desert killed the plan, but Armenia’s engineers have continued
to believe in massive intervention, digging huge tunnels to bring water
north from the Arpa and (this tunnel not yet completed) Vorotan rivers, so
as to allow fuller exploitation of the Hrazdan hydroelectric cascade.
Continuing straight past the Sevan city turn-off, passing various hostels,
one crosses the Hrazdan river and, about 2 km later, reaches a wide parking
area with the road (right) leading to the Sevan peninsula. Ignoring the
red “no entry” signs and bearing right, one comes to the parking area and
restaurants at the foot of the steps to Sevanavank* (once also known as
Sevank, "Black Monastery"). Here on the then island, Princess Mariam
Bagratuni sponsored construction of a monastery, first post-Arab example of
an important religious/architectural regional school, under the spiritual
guidance of the future katholikos Mashtots. As the 13th c. Bishop/historian
Stepanos Orbelian describes it,
“In that time, the venerable Mashtots shone for his amazing virtue on
the island of Sevan. ... He received the order in a vision to build a
church in the name of the twelve apostles and to set up a religious
community there. In his trance, he saw 12 figures walking toward him
on the sea, who showed him the place for the church. After this
vision and a warning from on high, the great queen Mariam, wife of
Vasak of Syunik, came to St. Mashtots and, having persuaded him,
built a richly ornamented church called the Twelve Apostles, next a
second called the Mother of God. She furnished them abundantly, and
made them the house of God and the refuge of pious men, in the year
323/AD 874.”
Per Kirakos Gandzaketsi (Tr. R. Bedrosian), "... lord Mashtots was
katholikos for one year. He was a blessed and virtuous man, filled
with brilliance and wisdom and he dwelled on the island in lake Sevan
practicing great asceticism--wearing a single garment and walking
barefoot--for forty years he ate no bread and drank no water. It was
lord Mashtots who established the book (which is called Mashtots
after him), gathering together all the ordered prayers and readings,
arranged with an appendix which itself has all the orders of
Christian faith. Reaching a ripe age, he gloriously reposed in
Christ."
The monastery fell on harder times, and there is a terrible tale that, in
the mid-18th century, the monks were ashamed lest the visiting katholikos
see their collection of ragged and water-damaged manuscripts, and so
secretly dumped them in the lake. The Russians' tame French Caucasus
expert Jean-Marie Chopin (Ivan Shopen) reported that in 1830 the monastery
had an abbot, five monks, 5 archdeacons, 7 protodeacons, 1 priest, and 11
servers. He noted that the monastic regime on the island was exceptionally
strict, that meat and wine were banned, as well as women and youths. The
monastery therefore served as reformatory for monks Ejmiatsin had banished
for their transgressions. Chopin listed the monastery's property: five
villages, four mills, a ruined dairy, 46 farm animals, and gardens and
fields. Eli Smith reported in 1830 that one of the monks was a dedicated
teacher, and manuscripts were still copied there by hand as late at 1850.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 43

Passing on the steps a monument to a 20th c. navy captain, lonely commander

of the Sevan fleet, one reaches first the Arakelots (Apostles) church and
then Astvatsatsin (Mother of God), the latter with various khachkar
fragments in the courtyard. These churches were restored in the 17-18th c,
and extensively rebuilt recently. The other monastery buildings have
mostly disappeared, though there are foundations of a third church, S.
Harutyun, above. Nothing is visible of two smaller ruined shrines ruined
by earthquakes, including one to S. Karapet. Beyond the monastery parking
area, the road continues past a police checkpoint to modern, assertive
guesthouses belonging to the Writer’s Union and the Government. There is a
commercial bathing beach below the monastery. Somewhere on the peninsula
may lurk scant remains of a cyclopean fortress or its medieval successor.
Gavar and the South Sevan Basin (Maps E, F)
Turning right (S) at the outskirts of Sevan onto the Gavar road, one first
reaches Lchashen (2720 v), till 1946 Ordaklu, inhabited from before 3000
BC. There are remains of a 13th c. church, and an Iron Age fort 3 km S,
with Urartian occupation; 3 km E is the major Bronze Age cemetery.
Excavations here identified the predominant Late Bronze Age cultural type
in Armenia, the so-called Lchashen-Metsamor culture dating from about 1500
BC to the Urartian conquest in the 8th century BC. Two chariots excavated
at the site and other interesting materials are now on display in the State
History Museum in Yerevan. Near the cemetery, on the left side of the
Sevan-Gavar road about 15-20 m from the road, there is an inscription of
Arghishti I carved in the rock facing the lake.
Next village, again W of the road, is Chkalovka (412 v), founded 1840 by
Russian emigrants as Alexandrovka on the site of Zeynalaghali, renamed in
1946 for Valeri Chkalov, famed test pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union,
killed during a test flight in 1938. A paved but badly potholed village
road parallels the main highway S, connecting Chkalovka to Norashen (258
v, founded 1920 on the site of Rahmankendi with a church and cemetery, and
Aghli Berd cyclopean fort 2 km W), Tsovazard (1181 v, till 1978 Mukhan;
Bronze Age burials, church rebuilt in 19th c.), Lchap (660 v, till 1945
Aghzibir or Kiziljik, with a cluster of three Early Iron Age cyclopean
forts E and S, with caves nearby) and ultimately Gavar.
Berdkunk (161 v, formerly Aghkala), was a transit point on the ancient
Dvin-Partev (Barda in Azerbaijan) road. On the E edge of the village is a
cyclopean fortress called locally Ishkhanats Amrots. From the village 1 km
W and 200 m SE of the left edge of the Sevan-Gavar road is a cyclopean
fortress with megalithic tombs. Hayravank or Ayrivan 488 v; 22.4 km from
the Sevan highway, on the left (E of the road) shortly after the Geghama
Pensionat, a paved road leads to a rock outcrop with a fine view of Lake
Sevan. There stands Hayravank monastery*, with a late 9th c church, a 12th
c. gavit, and khachkars. The rocks just NW preserve substantial walls of a
Bronze Age through medieval fort and settlement; nearby are Iron Age tombs.
There are two shrines in the village, with inscribed khachkars.
Exiting E at a somewhat over-engineered cloverleaf intersection leads one
toward Lake Sevan and the ancient village of Noratus* or Noraduz (3534 v).
Turning right at the first street past the bridge leads to the S edge of
town and S. Grigor Lusavorich church/Daputs Monastery of the 9-10th c.,
rebuilt by the 11th c architect Khachatur. Continuing straight into the
center of village, the second left leads to the ruined S. Astvatsatsin
church, a basilica built by Prince Sahak at the end of the 9th c., probably
on earlier foundations. Outside the W door are intriguing carved grave
monuments. On the E edge of town is a huge medieval-modern cemetery with
an impressive array of early khachkars* as well as evocative modern

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 44

funerary statuary. Continuing up the bare, windswept hillside beyond,

there is a smaller cluster of khachkars around a medieval funeral chapel.
Two km E of Noratus on the top of a hill is the Heghi Dar cyclopean
fortress with a large tomb and two big inhabited caves. On a promontory N
of Noratus is a large, well-maintained forest of antenna masts, ostensibly
belonging to Armentel. A couple of km S of Noraduz, near the former
village of Artsvakar (formerly Ghshlakh, now a suburb of Gavar), are the
Early Iron Age cyclopean fortresses of Ghslakh (near the lake), Zhami Dar
(just W of Artsvakar) and Mrtbi Dzor (S of Zhami Dar).
West of the main highway on the cloverleaf is Gavar (20626 v), the marz
capital, founded in 1830 by migrants from Bayazit in Turkey, with city
status since 1850. Till 1959 it was called Nor Bayazit, then Kamo, from
the nom de guerre of Simon Ter-Petrosian (1882-1922), a “professional
revolutionary” who robbed banks for the communist cause and escaped from
various Czarist jails. He died in a car crash in Tbilisi. Most of Gavar’s
industry is defunct, except for the cable factory. There is a folklore
museum, an airport, and a bishop, who for lack of suitable quarters spends
most of his time closer to Yerevan. The Early Iron Age fort of Berdi Glukh
occupies a long, slender rocky hill, now a modern cemetery, paralleling the
Gavaraget stream, behind the Haldi hotel on the main square. The fort
includes early cave dwellings, towers and an underground passage to the
Gavaraget. Just S is a large Early Iron Age cemetery. Urartian
inscriptions lend credence to the theory that this was the center of the
ancient Urartian district of Velikukhi. There are cyclopean fort remains
all around the city, particularly one 5 km E of Berdi Glukh.
Bearing somewhat right on the road at the bottom of the main square takes
one to the suburb of Hatsarat, with the small domed S. Astvatsatsin church,
built in 898 by the will of Prince Shagubat Arneghati, and the 19th c. S.
Grigor Lusavorich church adjoining, which still operates. Another
cyclopean fort also called Berdi Glukh, with a large tumulus, is on the NE
edge of Hatsarat by the modern cemetery. Just W of Gavar is Tsaghkashen
(310 v, founded in 1859) with S. Hovhannes church of the 9-10th c.
A badly rutted road leads S first to Gandzak (2755 v) whose residents came
originally from Mush, Bayazit, and Alashkert; it was called Batikian until
recently, named for Batik Batikian (1892-1920), a communist agitator shot
by the Dashnaks after the failed May 1920 uprising. The village was known
previously as Kyosamamed. There is a half-ruined Astvatsatsin basilica of
the 4-5th c, S. Gevorg domed church of 9-10th c. Next village S on the road
is Sarukhan (5588 v) on the bank of Kukudzor Creek. Its residents came in
1830 from Kogovit district. Once called Dalighardash, it was renamed for
the professional communist revolutionary Hovhannes Sarukhanian (1882-1920)
from Nor Bayazit, who was shot by the Dashnaks after they quelled his
attempt at a Communist seizure of his home town during the failed May 1920
uprising. On a hill called Tsaghkavan on the N edge of the village is a
cyclopean fort. The next village, Lanjaghbyur (1449 v) was called Kyuzajr
till 1950. It was founded in 1828 by migrants from Alashkert and Bayazit.
On the slope of the SE hill is Ilikavank or Paravi Vank, stylistically
dated to the 7th c. Near the monastery are cyclopean building remains
covering an area of 70 hectares. Gegharkunik (1109 v, till 1946 Bashkend)
is the end of the road, except for jeep trails leading up to the summer
pastures of the Geghama range. Its inhabitants came from Bayazit etc. in
1828. There is a tumble-down church/shed in village., and a humble S.
Gevorg church on a hill beyond.
Back on the main road S from Gavar, one first reaches Karmirgyugh (“Red
Village” 3873 v, till 1940 Ghulali), which was founded 1831 by migrants
from Bayazit. In the center of the village are ruined churches of S.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 45

Grigor and S. Astvatsatsin, with khachkars. A boundary stone inscribed in

Aramaic of King Artashes was found here, and there are Urartian ruins
nearby. Some 12 km S of Gavar, on a peninsula jutting into the lake, is
Kanagegh medieval settlement with khachkars and a cyclopean fortress.
S of Karmirgyugh, a turn-off W leads to Eranos (3404 v), with an
Astvatsatsin church of 1215 (bear left inside the village) and Tukh Manuk
and S. Sofia shrines. Left of the Gavar-Martuni road, by the old chicken
farm, are cyclopean fort remains. A rutted road leads S from Eranos to
Vardadzor 1565 v), founded 1828-29 from Mush, with an Urartian inscription
of 722-705 BC. This road continues to Dzoragyugh (2280 v, reoccupied
1930., named for its position in a river gorge. Turning W to follow the
stream through the village, then keeping on the left (S) side of a tongue-
shaped hill, one reaches on the W edge of the village the ruins of Shoghaga
Vank of the 7-17th c. and its surrounding cemetery. The church is labeled
S. Petros and dated 877-886; it was apparently another work of Princess
Mariam, the sponsor of Sevanavank. Retracing steps, the road continues S
to an outlying section of the village with the Masruts Anapat (hermitage of
Masru) of the 9th c., visible through houses about 200 m W of the road. The
church, maintained lovingly and kept locked, still operates. A local woman
keeps the key. On a hill 2 km W of Dzoragyugh is the Sangyar cyclopean
fort occupying 40 hectares.
Continuing S, turning W brings one to Tazagyugh (1465 v, formerly
Tazakend). There is a Grigor Lusavorich church of 9-10th c and a 16th c. S
Astvatsatsin. A good dirt road continues W into the mountains. In the
opposite direction from Tazagyugh is Tsakkar (1372 v), founded in 1828
from Mush. It allegedly has a natural bridge, a church rebuilt in 19th c.,
and a boundary stone of Artashes I. NW on Bakhtak creek is a Hellenistic
settlement.
Lichk (2803 v), formerly Gyol (“lake”), was founded in 1830 by migrants
from Alashkert. Cyclopean fort, medieval town remains, S. Astvatsatsin
church and 13th c. khachkars. Tsaghkevank is on a level hill summit on the
SW edge. 1.5 km W is Ghrer Bronze Age burial site. Next village south,
Nerkin (lower) Getashen (4486 v, till 1945 Adyaman), was an early
medieval capital of the region. The road from the main highway is
signposted in Armenian. The 9th c. Kotavank church is perched on the ridge
overlooking the village and the Argich river. Kotavank was built by Grigor
Supan, son of Princess Mariam. On the main village road just beyond the
dirt road up to the church, is a tumble-down little basilica hiding behind
a prefab store. Arranged with stalls as a barn, this church preserves many
khachkars built into its walls. On a hill 2 km E is a cyclopean fortress,
where a cuneiform inscription of Rusa I was found. Another cyclopean fort
3 km W is called Berdi Dosh. South of Lower Getashen is Verin (upper)
Getashen (2629 v), founded 1828-29 from Mush and Alashkert; S.
Astvatsatsin, S. Sargis churches. The road continues S to Madina (610 v),
whose residents settled there in 1922. The mountain west of Madina, the
extinct Armaghan volcano, rises 450 m above its surroundings, with a small
lake in the crater.
Martuni (8846 v), anciently Mets Kznut, from 1830-1922 Nerkin Gharanlugh,
from 1926 Martuni, former rayon capital, named for first Soviet PM
Myasnikian’s nom de guerre. It has various non-functioning industries and
“Martuni” Rest House. Astvatsatsin church rebuilt in 1886; on the S edge
of Martuni left of the Martuni-Geghhovit road are cyclopean fort ruins
above the modern cemetery. South from Martuni on the road that, in good
weather in a sturdy car, leads to the Selim Caravansaray and Yeghegnadzor,
one first reaches Geghhovit (3722 v, till 1968 Verin Gharanlugh; founded
in the 15th c, but current residents from Alashkert in 1823). In the

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 46

village is a S. Gevorg church. The small modern cement church just on the
S end of town was erected by the local member of parliament, perhaps for
electoral purposes. There is a small cyclopean fort on the hill above. In
the middle of the village, a road descends SW and crosses the river.
Turning left at the first opportunity after the river, you reach a hilltop
just S of the village with walls of an Iron Age fort (best seen at S end)
excavated in 1997 by an Armenian-Italian team. Supposedly the medieval
Alberd fort, mentioned in connection with a 9th c. Byzantine military
campaign, is here as well, with a shrine of S. Mamas. About 4 km S of
Geghhovit, on a hill E of the road where the Martuni and Dashtidzor rivers
come together, is a Berdi Glukh cyclopean fort. The paved road passes
Lernakert, then ascends (now unpaved) into the mountains toward the Selim
Pass/Caravansaray and Yeghegnadzor. Just E of the road before the summit,
a series of boulders have carved on them faint outline maps of the major
constellations, possibly dated to the 3rd millennium BC. Sev Sar, the
mountain just East, also has important petroglyphs.
East from Martuni -- Teyseba and Vanevan (Map F, G)
Vaghashen 2291 v, till 1935 Abdalaghalu), has two 16th c. churches and (1.5
km S) Kyurdi Kogh and Aloyi Kogh cyclopean fort ruins,. Village was
founded 1828-29 from Mush, Alashkert. Then Astghadzor (2193 v), till 1935
Alighrkh, historically Kats or Katsik; Poghos-Petros church in the
village, and old churches and khachkars, including shrines of St. Hripsime,
following the gorges SE and SW of the village. On a high hill SW of the
village, a little shrine had another Aramaic boundary stone of King
Artashes I. There are cyclopean fort ruins of Vanki Amrots 3 km S, and
Iron Age graves in the vicinity.
Zolakar (4127 v), till 1935 Zolakhach, settled in 1829 from Alashkert;
with funerary monument in center. Tukh Manuk and S. Sargis churches,
Bronze Age cemeteries.
Vardenik 5591 v, till 1945 Gyuzeldara), on Vardenis river, cyclopean fort
ruins of Kaftarli 3 km S, with rock carvings downhill on the right bank;
also churches, shrines; founded 1828-29 from Mush.
E of Tsovinar (2417 v), on a hill cut by the old (and very rough) road
between Tsovinar and Artsvanist, is the Urartian city of Teyseba, (modernly
Odzaberd or “Serpent Castle”) founded by Rusa I (approx. 735-713 BC), the
best-preserved Urartian fortification in the Sevan Basin. The site is best
reached from the spur to Artsvanist, turning right (W) on a little dirt
road toward Tsovinar. Carved into a low cliff below the road on the Lake
Sevan side is a worn cuneiform inscription of Rusa I recounting his
conquest of 23 countries. With equal arrogance, the modern engineers of
the Arpa-Sevan tunnel chose the hill of Teyseba to be the point where the
tunnel debouches on the lake. Up the hill S of the road there are various
walls of boulders, preserved particularly on the S side of the hill
fortress.
Artsvanist (1734 v) till 1968 N. Aluchalu, founded in 1829-30 by migrants
from Alashkert. As the road reaches the center of the village, bear half-
left at the war memorial and follow the gorge a few hundred meters to
Vanevan*, an important work of 10th c. regional architecture. The main
church of S. Grigor (left) was built in 903 by Prince Shapuh Bagratuni,
brother of King Smbat, and his sister Mariam. The right-hand church may be
contemporary, but the gavit between them was added later. There is a
spring and a shallow cave behind the monastery. Father Tiratur Hagopian,
son and grandson of priests serving this village, is attempting to revive
Vanevan as the center of an active parish. Continuing straight S through
the village, one sees on the left across the gorge remains of an early

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 47

cemetery and church. 3 km S is Kolataki S. Astvatsatsin of late 9th-early

10th c., and Hnevank of 10th c. In the same area is Bruti Berd cyclopean
fortress.
Former Vardenis Rayon -- Makenyats Vank (Map G)
The area between Vardenis and Lake Sevan used to be the shallow Gilli Lake
and surrounding wetlands, home to vast populations of migrating birds. The
wetlands have almost disappeared, however, due to the fall of the water
level in Lake Sevan. The Vardenis region was heavily Azeri Muslim in
population until 1988, with only a handful of its 30-odd villages
predominantly Armenian. Since 1989, there has been modest resettlement by
ethnic Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan, as well as reoccupation of the
now renamed Azeri villages by local farmers. The road E through Vardenis
continues on to the Zod gold mines, inactive in recent years but taken over
in 1998/99 by a multinational mining company. Just beyond the mine works
and a Military Police post, the dirt road crosses a pass (2366 m, often
closed in winter) into Kelbajar district of Azerbaijan (since 1992
depopulated of its predominantly Kurdish inhabitants and under occupation
by Karabakhi/Armenian forces), and proceeds as far as Mardakert in northern
N-K. There are daily buses from Mardakert to Yerevan, and occasional
trucks bringing firewood cut in the occupied territories.
Karchaghbyur (1663 v) has petroglyphs in the gorge of Karchaghbyur river;
SE is Berdidash cyclopean fort with two Christianized pagan shrines; 2 km W
are BA burials. Beginning in 1975, archaeologists have been excavating a
Persian and Hellenistic period walled settlement on a promontory jutting
out into the lake. The site was abandoned at the end of the 1st century BC,
with mass burials of that period.
Some 5 km E of the Karchaghbyur turn-off, in a little wood, is an
unsignposted right turn for Tsovak (1494 v), with a cuneiform inscription
of Sarduri II of the 8th c. BC, cut in the rock on the N edge of a huge Iron
Age cyclopean fort occupying the hill forming the S and W side of the
village. After 1 km, take the right fork which winds up onto a narrow
spine of rock, with khachkars, the road leading S to Lchavan (296 v, till
1967 Yarpuzlu, Bronze Age tombs, church of 13-14th c, khachkars) and then
Makenis (312v). Makenyats Vank*, right of the road about 100 m inside the
village, was a major cultural/education center of medieval Gegharkunik with
10-13th c. churches. Prince Grigor Supan built the central S. Astvatsatsin
church (locked) at the end of the 9th c. In the near corner of the walled
enclosure, hanging out over the gorge, is a picturesque medieval sanitary
facility. The road continues to Akhpradzor 202 v), till 1978 Verin
Zaghalu.
Past the turn for Tsovak, the road passes Vanevan (249 v) formerly Shafak,
and Torfavan (281 v, formerly Kamishlu?). A right turn leads to Lusakunk
(837 v, formerly Tuskyulu), Khachaghbyur (752 v, formerly Chakhirlu or
Sovietakert, with ruined Iron Age fort, 13th c. church), and Geghakar (112
v, formerly Subatan).
Vardenis (9145 v) till 1969 Basargechar, anciently Vasakashen, was settled
in 1830 from Western Armenia. There are two hotels as well as Bronze Age
tombs. Leaving the village on the E road (the 10 o’clock turn on the
roundabout), there is on the left a large late 19th/early 20th c.
Astvatsatsin church, built on earlier foundations. Surrounding the church
are fine khachkars and tombstones of a 16th c. burial ground.
Heading S from Vardenis, one road goes to Akunk (2572 v, till 1935
Ghrkhbulagh, 6-4th c. BC fort, Klor Dar cyclopean fort W of village, Bronze
Age settlement, two Tukh Manuk pilgrimage sites), and another (the right-

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 48

hand turn at the main Vardenis roundabout) goes to the eerie but appealing
village of Ayrk* (398 v, till recently Dashkend). In Ayrk, take the right
fork at the village store, and watch out on the right for the Astvatsatsin
Church (dated 1181) and, 150 m beyond, the Katoghike S. Gevorg church of
13th c., both with substantial graveyards. Between the two churches are
massive stone walls of an Iron Age fortification, with shallow caves below.
Taking the left fork at the store, one comes to the essentially abandoned
hamlets of Nerkin Shorzha (39 v), and Verin Shorzha (19 v).
North from Vardenis (Map G)
Mets (big) Masrik (1684 v) or Mets Mazra, habitation attested since the 7th
c, has a famous khachkar of 881, a 17th c. church, two shrines of 12-13th c.
Then Pokr (little) Masrik (630 v,) with 12-13th c. church and khachkars. W
of the road is Norakert (532 v) founded in 1927 as a state farm
specializing in wheat seed. Continuing N, one reaches Geghamasar (679 v,
formerly Shishkaya, with 16th c. church, cemetery N of village), Areguni
(247 v, formerly Gyuney, till 1935 Satanakhach), Daranak (168 v, formerly
Dara, founded 1921 by people from Pambak), Pambak (363 v, churches,
caravansaray, cemeteries), and Tsapatagh (187 v, formerly Babajan). The
road continues around the lake, passing through the former Krasnosyelsk
region.
North and East of the main road are the villages of Kakhakn (326 v,
formerly Karayman or Sovietakend, with 13-16th c. khachkars), Arpunk (306
v, formerly Kyasaman, since 1978 Bahar, with 15th c. church 3 km SE), and
Avazan (207 v, till recently Gyosu). From Mets Masrik spur roads go NE to
Kutakan (194 v, formerly Gyunashli, till 1968 Janahmed), Tretuk (98 v,
formerly Inakdagh, in 1978 became Yenikend) and Aghyokhosh.
East from Vardenis (Map G)
East of Vardenis on the road to Sotk (past the church, then angle right at
the next traffic light), the first right turn leads to Shatjrek (226 v,
formerly Ghoshabulagh), Jaghatsadzor (82 v, formerly Sariyaghub), and
Geghamabak (52 v, formerly Ghayabagh). Next right leads to Shatavan (521
v, formerly Narimanlu, with 15-16th c. cemetery) and Norabak (267 v,
formerly Azizlu, before then Mets Gharaghoyun). Continuing straight, the
road reaches the gold mining town of Sotk (1553 v, formerly Zod, founded in
1969 on the Zod river). In the village is a large three-aisle basilica of
S. Astvatsatsin, said to be 7th c. but with 13th c. gravestones built into
the walls. South of the road are Azat (107 v, till 1935 Aghkilisa, with a
pair of khachkars and the poor remains of an 11th c. church), and Kut (2344
v, formerly Zarkend, till 1935 Zarzibil, founded 1801).
The East Side of Sevan -- Chambarak (Map E)
Past the Sevan peninsula, the road forks right to Chambarak (still known to
most by its old name of Krasnosyelsk). The left fork leads to Dilijan and
beyond, passing first through Tsovagyugh (2350 v), till 1935 Chibukhlu,
Karatap has ruins of church; on an egg-shaped hill NE is an Iron Age fort.
Just before the top of the pass leading to Dilijan is Semyonovka (164 v), a
Russian village founded in 1849.
Chambarak and the former Krasnosyelsk rayon on the far side of Lake Sevan
are best reached by driving N from Sevan and around the lake, paralleling
the railroad line to the Zod gold mine. After passing a series of lake
resorts, the E Sevan shore becomes national park. A turn-off left (at 26.4
km from the Dilijan/Krasnosyelsk fork) leads to Drakhtik (701 v), formerly
Tokhluja, with old cemeteries. A substantial asphalt road (at 27.9 km)
left leads over the Chambarak pass (8.3 km), which marks the boundary

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 49

between the Sevan/Hrazdan/Arax watershed and that of the Getik, which flows
N and E into the Aghstev and Kura rivers.
At about 16 km one reaches a fork on the outskirts of Chambarak (5508 v),
the left track passing through the administrative center of the former
Krasnosyelsk rayon. Chambarak was founded in 1835-40 on the Getik (“little
river”) by Russian immigrants, with the name Mikhaylovka. In 1920 it
became Karmir Gyugh (“Red village”), then in 1972 Krasnosyelsk (meaning the
same in Russian). This is a border region whose eastern defensive
positions are still subject to occasional shelling. At the far end of town
(jog right then left in the center), one reaches a crossroads. Turning
left to follow the Getik, one sees on the right, five houses before the NW
edge of town, the (reportedly still functioning) house museum of the Borian
brothers. Armenak, one of the 26 Baku commissars, was shot by Bolshevik-
fearing Turkmen in September 1918, while his more successful brother
Bagrat, revolutionary, Pravda correspondent, and Central Committee member,
met his maker in 1938 after fatally underestimating the role of Russia in
his history of Armenian diplomacy. Chambarak also boasts some 13th c.
khachkars.
Turning right (SE) in Chambarak, the road leads to Vahan (1107 v), formerly
Orjonikidze, founded in 1925 in honor of Sergo Orjonikidze (1886-1937), the
great Caucasus revolutionary. At the E end of Vahan, on a hill between two
tributaries of the Getik, is an Early Iron Age cyclopean fort.. From
Vahan, the road used to continue E into Azerbaijan and thence into the
Armenian enclave of Artsvashen, a large village known until about 1980 as
Bashkend. 7 km E on this road (you may be shot at if you get this far) are
ruins of another cyclopean fort. Artsvashen was founded in 1845. It was
the birthplace of Hero of the Soviet Union Saribek Chilingarian, who in
April 1945 raised the Red Flag over the fortifications of Berlin.
Artsvashen was captured by Azeri forces in August 1992, one of the most
painful reverses suffered by Armenia in the N-K dispute.
South toward Vardenis (Map E)
Beyond the Chambarak turnoff on the road S. to Vardenis, a smaller road
leads E to Aghberk (239 v), until recently Aghbulagh and inhabited by
Azeris. Just beyond this turnoff is the small village of Shorzha (432 v),
with a 17th c. chapel/cemetery on the S edge of town, a ruined chapel on the
hill above, and an Iron Age fort somewhere in the vicinity. South of the
village, a paved road angles SW onto the Artanish peninsula. There is a
substantial vacation compound, including gravel beach, now belonging to the
Union of Artists. The main road south deteriorates after Artanish (804 v,
ruins of cyclopean fortresses on hill just to W, also 5 km SE, also 1 km N;
church, cemeteries); and Jil (518 v, founded in 12th c., with Dashti-ler
fort 2 km N).
Down (NW) the Getik River -- Old Getik Vank (Map E)
Crossing the Getik and turning left, a bumpy asphalt road passes the Borian
house museum and follows the river NW toward the Dilijan-Ijevan road. At
8.4 km past the Krasnosyelsk intersection, just beyond Ttujur (686 v,
Kotrats church, Tsak kar ruined settlement), a good dirt/asphalt road
ascends back to the east and then climbs N toward the Shamsadin region of
Tavush Marz and the town of Berd, becoming perhaps the most spectacular
road in Armenia. (see Tavush section, Map O).
Next village on the main road is Getik (306 v) formerly Nor Bashgyugh
(“New chief village”), founded in 1922, with megalithic monuments,
khachkars, and an Iron Age cyclopean fort (Mughani Khach). Next village,
left of the road, is Martuni (384 v, named for first Soviet Armenian PM

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 50

Alexander Myasnikian’s cover name; Iron Age forts; medieval churches at

Aghjkaghala). Just after Martuni, a dirt road angles steeply up N and
continues to the impressive 10th c. Castle of Aghjkaghala* on the ridgeline.
Next turnoff, a good dirt road crossing the river about 100 m before two
wooden houses on the right, leads S and up through woods to the ruins of
Old Getik monastery, predecessor of Goshavank or New Getik. The monastery
was ruined in an earthquake, and the remaining walls are only about 2 m
high. The dirt road continues to Jivikhlu, once home to 40-50 Azeri
families, now occupied by 10 Armenian families, refugees from Artsvashen.
The main road next reaches Aygut (623 v, till recently Gyolkend, named in
Turkish from 7 little nearby lakes) on the main road.
From Dprabak (393 v, formerly Chaykend, founded in 1778 by migrants from
Kazakh and Karabakh), a road S goes to the once Azeri villages of Barepat,
(Bariabad) and Kalavan (140 v, formerly Amirkher). After Dzoravank (126
v, formerly Gharaghaya), there is a turn-off left to Antaramej (“In the
woods”, 145 v, till recently Meshakend, till 1978 Yanighpaya), and then the
main road reaches the border with Tavush Marz.

EXPLORING KOTAYK
Kotayk Marz is the offspring of the Hrazdan and Getar rivers. The flow of
the Hrazdan (formerly Zangi) river from Lake Sevan past Yerevan to the Arax
River cut a gorge through the twisted basalt formations of the foothills,
creating a micro-environment that attracted Paleolithic toolmakers. Since
Sovietization, the Hrazdan river has driven a long series of hydropower
plants, whose cheap electricity and water attracted in the 1940s-80s a new
breed of tool makers. This series of new industrial cities is now plagued
by massive unemployment and hard-pressed to find a raison d’être. The
gorge of the Hrazdan river remains striking for its varied climate and rock
formations, and in its northern reaches, mountains and forests are the
setting for an array of summer guest-houses and sanatoria. The riven
crater of Mt. Ara dominates the western skyline of the marz. Beyond the
upland valleys of the Getar river basin E of Yerevan, the Geghama range
becomes a desolate but beautiful upland of eroded volcanic cones, almost
uninhabited, while the southern border is the dramatic gorge of the Azat
river and Garni/Geghard.
As a tourist destination Kotayk is rich indeed. Besides the traditional
attractions of Garni, Geghard, and Tsaghkadzor, the region abounds in
wonderfully sited rural monasteries such as Havuts Tar, S. Stepanos,
Teghenyats and Meghradzor, forts such as Bjni and Sevaberd, and the
splendid folk shrine of Kuys Varvara inside the Mt. Ara volcanic crater.
The Road to Garni and Geghard (Map H)
First village after leaving Yerevan on the Garni road (up the continuation
of Abovian St. through the Getar river gap, past Vano Siradeghian’s house
and the zoo, take the off-ramp right, and then bear left after passing
through Nor Nork) is Jrvezh (4122 v, “Waterfall”), with a ruined cemetery
complex of the 5th century. Next is Voghjaberd (669 v), with megalithic
monuments nearby and a series of ancient or medieval caves cut in the
cliffs above. S of this village, a small domed church of the 4-5th c. was
excavated. If the dating is correct, this is one of the oldest churches of
its type. Geghadir (429 v, till 1935 Kyarpichlu), settled in 1918-24 by
residents of Van, Kars, etc. To SW were found four red stone sarcophagi
and interesting grave goods of the 5-3rd c. BC. South of the road, about
two hundred meters before the turnoff to Hatsavan (357 v), a low ridge has

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 51

the remains of a fortification with half-round towers, dated by its

excavator to the 1st-3rd c AC.
The village of Garni* (4575 v, until 1936 Bash-Gyarni) has been inhabited
almost continuously since the 3rd millennium BC, with intermittent
plunderings (e.g., Timur Lenk in 1386), earthquakes, et cetera. The
current population derives from the Persian district of Maku, in an
exchange of populations in 1829-30 following the Russo-Persian treaty of
Turkmanchay. Medieval remains in the village include a ruined 4th c.
single-aisle church (SE part of village), the 11th c. Astvatsatsin church
(in the center), and the 12th c. “Little” or “Mashtots Hayrapet” church.
There are supposedly shrines of Tukh Manuk (NE), S. Sargis (NW on hilltop),
and Queen Katranide (S of the fortress).
The Hellenistic to late Roman (3rd-c BC - 4th c. AD) fortress of Garni**, on
a basalt promontory jutting out into the Azat/Garni river gorge, enjoys
spectacular views that change with the seasons. The site is a relic of one
of the relatively brief periods in Armenia’s history when, poised between
the Mediterranean world and the Middle East, its rulers opted culturally as
well as politically for the former. However, little of their world
survives outside the fortress walls.
Entering from the car park, note the substantial fortress walls across and
around the promontory, massive basalt ashlar blocks bonded to one another
with iron clamps. These probably date to the 1st c. AC, with 4th c. and
medieval repairs. Carved on a wall block, now removed, is a battered Greek
inscription from the 11th year of the reign of King Tiridates, who styled
himself "Helios" (the Sun God), commemorating the construction of the
"unconquerable fortress." Unfortunately, there is nothing to indicate
which of several Tiridates is meant. The fortress crept into Roman history
through a discreditable incident from the reign of Claudius, around AD 52,
recounted by Tacitus in book 12 of his Annals. Rome had placed on the
throne of Armenia one Mithridates, brother of Pharasmanes the king of
Iberia (Georgia). Rhadamistus, son of Pharasmanes, thirsted for a kingdom
of his own. He besieged Mithridates in the Garni fortress, along with a
Roman camp prefect and legionary garrison. The prefect, "who had seduced
one of the king's concubines and was reputed a man who could be bribed into
any wickedness," lived up to his reputation and cut a deal. Mithridates
was treacherously smothered under a pile of rugs. The Roman Senate opined
in response that "any crime in a foreign country was to be welcomed with
joy, and that the seeds of strife ought to be actually sown, on the very
principle on which Roman emperors had often under a show of generosity
given away this same kingdom of Armenia to excite the minds of the
barbarians." The Parthians, less cynical, invaded. Rhadamistus was chased
from his palace by the enraged Armenian townsfolk. Fearing his loyal wife
Zenobia would be caught and subjected to a fate worse than death, he
stabbed her and threw her in the Arax. Fortunately she survived, and
Handel wrote an opera about them, called "Radamisto."
The Greco-Roman-style temple at the tip of the promontory is generally
thought to have been built around 77 AD under King Tiridates I. However, a
study of the architectural details by R.D. Wilkinson suggests that it was
more plausibly a temple-tomb of the late 2nd c. AC, perhaps built for the
Roman vassal king Sohaemus. This Sohaemus was from Emesa in Syria, site of
a famous Sun temple. Sohaemus may well have been a distant relative not
only of the Artashesids but also of the young and disastrous 3rd century
Emperor Elagabalus, who attempted to impose Sun worship on the entire Roman
empire. The Garni temple collapsed in the earthquake of 1679, which laid
low most of medieval Yerevan, and was implacably restored in the early
1970s. Note a series of 9-10th c. Arabic graffiti on the walls.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 52

The four-lobed 7th-9th c church foundation abutting the temple is likewise

heavily restored. The 4th c. bath building preserves part of a mosaic
floor, decorated with oddly named Greco-Roman sea goddesses and an
enigmatic Greek inscription, “Taking nothing we labored” (perhaps the
imported workmen were stiffed?). The mosaic is better appreciated through
the replica on the wall of the main hall of the Picture Gallery in Republic
Square than in situ, where it is concealed by an unattractive shelter.
The Garni Gorge* and Khosrov Reserve entrance by car: Though the Garni
Gorge can be entered on foot by taking a steep, rough path from the left
side of the temple parking lot, one can also drive. The first of two
vehicle entrances to the Garni gorge is reached by taking the paved road to
the right about 1 km W of Garni. Continue straight over the bridge, then
turn left at the cement wall (straight goes to a mysterious Physics
Institute), and left again on the dirt road where the dachas begin. A
narrow dirt road, barely passable for street cars, descends into the gorge
and E along the river past wonderful rock formations and pleasant picnic
places, joining up with the other road from Garni village. Note that
beyond the Physics Institute, another road dead-ends at the bottom of the
gorge at a small hydropower station. There is a footbridge across the
river just upstream, leading to an excellent set of walking trails
following the river.
The Garni cobbled road into the gorge is also the route to reach the
entrance to the Khosrov Nature Reserve, and an excellent jumping off point
for Havuts Tar (see below). The preserve takes its name from King Khosrov
III, who ordered the planting of a massive forest to repair centuries of
deforestation. Enter Garni village via the right fork at the WWII memorial.
Continue straight till the road runs up against a large building, the House
of Culture. Go left, then take the first significant dirt road right.
Angling slightly right at the bottom, a steep, white-cobbled road (an icy
deathtrap in winter) leads into the gorge. Turning right at the bottom of
the gorge takes one along the Garni river, to the 11 c. medieval bridge,
strange columnar basalt cliffs, colonies of house martins and swifts, lush
greenery, and a series of picnic spots. Turning left, one bumps along a
stream-traversed dirt road, past fishponds, across a bridge and up the far
side of the gorge. At the top of the saddle is a padlocked cable across
the road. The Khosrov Reserve guards at the gatehouse beyond may let you
in, if you tell them you are visiting the “Surp” (St. Stepanos church, see
below). Officially, prior permission to pass must be obtained from the
Ministry of Nature Protection in Yerevan or from Mr. Samvel Shaboyan,
Director of the Khosrov Reserve, based in the town of Vedi (phone 21332).
Just before the guard house, clambering up the hill to the left and back,
you will find a footpath that quickly widens, following the contours east
about 40 minutes to Havuts Tar, passing khachkars along the route.
A rough dirt track continues down into the Reserve, running upstream along
the Azat river. At 5 km from the entrance, where Milli Creek (vtak), runs
into the Azat from the left, the road straight across the bridge is closed
by a wire (key in house on hill back to left). Turning left along an even
rougher track brings one in 200 m to Baiburt,. A simple, single-aisle
basilica probably of the 5th c. stands left of the road among ruins of old
dwellings of an Armenian population deported to Persia by Shah Abbas in the
17th c, and more modern ruins of its more recently departed Azeri
population. Baiburt now houses three families of Reserve employees. There
are allegedly pagan period remains in the vicinity. Another few km uphill
past Baiburt, on a poor jeep track, is the hamlet of Mets Gilanlar, with a
few simple wooden huts. Turning left just before Gilanlar, the road
continues to a valley across which (20 minutes on foot) are the evocative

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 53

ruins of the Aghjots Vank/S. Stepanos Church* of the early 13th century
(though founded, according to local legend, by Gregory the Illuminator on
the site of the martyrdom of a certain Stepanos, companion of St.
Hripsime). Added to the W end of the church of 1207, funded by Ivane
Zakarian and the local prince Grigor Khaghbakian, is a gavit with many
inscriptions and khachkars, now partly fallen down the hill, and N is a
small chapel of 1270 with with a carved portal flanked by Saints Peter
(left) and Paul (bearded, right). The monastery was sacked by the Persians
in 1603, subsequently restored, despoiled again in the 18th century, and
ruined permanently in Muslim-Christian clashes in 1905/6. S. Stepanos can
also be reached on foot or horse (and, in good weather, maybe Jeep) from
Goght, about 3 hours of stiff but highly rewarding climb. See below under
Goght.
Opening the barrier and crossing the bridge to follow the road along the
Azat River, one reaches after a few km a fork back to the right, which
fords the Azat river and leads S over a difficult mountain track to
Gelaysar and then on to Dvin and the southern part of the Khosrov Reserve E
of Vedi. Just beyond, a fork left leads to Kyorpikend and (maybe) to Mets
Gilanlar and another approach to Kakavaberd. At approximately 8 km from
the Bayburd bridge, a stream across the road forms a barrier to most
vehicles. Beyond it on a hill to the left is a ruined hamlet, an early
habitation site. Somewhere nearby is a ruined medieval church and cluster
of khachkars called Vanstan. On the sheer summit east of the river is
Kakavaberd*, more properly Geghi or Keghi Berd. This well preserved
fortress of the 9th-13th c. is attested in manuscripts as a family fiefdom
of the Bagratunis, then the Pahlavunis, site of a defeat of the Arab
chieftain Beshr by Gevorg Marzpetuni in 924, and where Prince Ivane
Zakarian took refuge after his defeat by Jalal ad Din Mingburnu, the last
Khwarezm-Shah, near Garni in 1224. Besides walls and towers, there is a
medieval church in the fortress. In the vicinity are or were five large
dragon monuments (vishap), carved standing stones, with designs of bulls
and birds.
Back out of the gorge on the main road from Garni, Goght village (1104 v),
between Garni and Geghard, is known from 13th c. manuscripts as Goghot;
turnoff to right is 4.9 km past the Garni W.W.II monument. Past the main
square, straight ahead down the dirt road, is a ruined little basilica
church of the 17th or 18th (?) century, with good khachkars built into the
walls.
Havuts Tar Vank*, 11-13th c., is an impressive walled monastery, half
ruined, on a promontory across the Garni river gorge from Goght. It can be
reached in a bit less than an hour on foot, either from Goght or from the
dirt road at the bottom of the gorge, accessible by car from Garni.
From Goght, follow the dirt track from the far end of the main paved
square, past the ruined basilica church, then bear left on the asphalt road
to the end. Go through a green metal gate into a farmyard (friendly folk),
then bear right past the barn down cement steps to a clear, steep footpath
down into the gorge, across a wooden bridge, then up to farmlands. In the
far right corner of the fields, the path continues steeply up, about fifty
yards to the left side of a little gully and vertical rock spine. Most of
the way up, a clear path goes right following the contour line. First you
reach a cluster of small shrines/tombs, then the monastery, and beyond it
the Amenaprkich church on the western outcrop. Amenaprkich was built in
1013 by the young Grigor Pahlavuni (ca. 990-1058), son of the lord of Bjni
and nephew of the sparapet Vahram Pahlavuni. a fascinating character who
went down in history as Grigor Magistros from the Byzantine imperial titles
he received after the Armenia kingdom of Gagik II Bagratuni passed into

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 54

Byzantine hands in 1045. Having given his own lands to the Emperor, Grigor
Magistros received estates in Mesopotamia and was ultimately appointed
governor of large tracts of historical Armenia. He was also a major
scholar of the period, author of a grammatical treatise, a 1000-line (each
rhyming on “-in”) verse rendition of Holy Scripture, and a book of letters
in an erudite but untranslatable style.
The bulk of the monastic complex is 12-14th c., rebuilt in the early 18th c.
by the Katholikos Astvatsatur after being ruined in the great 1679
earthquake. The walled enclosure preserves a rich trove of inscriptions
and carvings from earlier times, as well as vaulted guest rooms.
From Goght, a jeep/mule track descends into the gorge, crosses, and climbs
up and over to reach S. Stepanos monastery. Driving into Goght on the
paved road, turn left on the dirt road just before the paved square. After
200 meters, the right fork descends E into the gorge, fords the stream, and
rises steeply up to the top of the ridge. On foot from Goght, following
the jeep track, you reach in about an hour the ruined hamlet of Almardan
(left of track a little khachkar beside a ruined apsidal church?), then
slope up W to the summit (another hour). The right fork leads around the
slope, descending to the ruined hamlet of Ellija, and continues E, passing
just above S. Stepanos before ending in a series of particularly bad goat
tracks. The left fork follows the crest of the ridge E into the deep
mountains. Note that the track is steep and likely to be covered during
wet weather in very greasy mud. There is also a mule-track that ascends
the ridge more directly, starting from the same point at the bottom of the
gorge but bearing off to the W. after reaching a lower saddle W of the
jeep track, take the left downhill fork following the contour, and then
take the jeep track downhill.
At Goght, a road branches left to the village of Geghard (177 v), but the
straight road ends in the parking lot of Geghardavank**, “Monastery of the
Spear,” otherwise known as Ayrivank. A spearhead-shaped metal object, now
in the Ejmiatsin treasury, but once housed at Geghard, gave the monastery
its name, as the lance with which Christ was wounded in the side. Nestled
at the end of a rugged gorge, Geghard was clearly a sacred spot even in
antiquity, with a seep of water coming out of the rock. Though there are
inscriptions dating to the 1160s, the main church was built in 1215 under
the auspices of the brothers Zakare and Ivane, the generals of Queen Tamar
of Georgia, who took back most of Armenia from the Turks. The gavit,
partly free-standing, partly carved in the cliff, dates to before 1225, and
a series of chapels hewn into the rock dates from the mid 13th century
following the purchase of the monastery by Prince Prosh Khaghbakian, vassal
of the Zakarians and founder of the Proshian principality. The chamber
reached from the NE of the gavit became his tomb in 1283. The adjacent
chamber has carved in the rock the arms of the Proshian family, including
an eagle with a lamb in its claws. A stairway W of the gavit leads up to a
funerary chamber carved out in 1288 for Papak Proshian and his wife
Ruzukan. All around the monastery are caves and khachkars. The monastery
was defunct, the main church used to shelter the flocks of the Karapapakh
nomads in winter, until resettled by a few monks from Ejmiatsin after the
Russian conquest. Restored for tourist purposes but now with a small
ecclesiastical presence, the site is still a major place of pilgrimage.
Outside the far door is a table for ritual animal offerings (“matagh”), and
a bridge over the stream.
North along Hrazdan Gorge -- Bjni (Map H)
Hrazdan Gorge is impressive primarily for its Paleolithic-looking rock
formations, and for the Paleolithic persons who inhabited them, leaving

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 55

along the river bank ample worked stone traces of their presence. The
drive is a pleasant alternative to the main Sevan highway, slower of
course, but over a generally decent asphalt road.
The first village N of Yerevan is Arinj (3424 v), with remains of a
medieval fort nearby, with dragon carving of 1501 on lintel and eagle
commemorating Bishop Hovhannes. A Hellenistic settlement is nearby. E of
the village is Dzagavank or Getargeli S. Nshan, with a ruined 7th c. church
(S. Nshan) and a formerly two-story 13th c. church E of it. To reach Ptghni
(907 v), you leave Yerevan on the main Sevan highway, take the U-turn at
the traffic police (GAI) station soon after all the roads from Yerevan
converge, before the Abovian turn-off, then immediately right, following an
asphalt road that curves down to the right into Hrazdan gorge. Taking the
first right turn possible into the village, thread along an unconvincing
asphalt road until a grotesque, silver-painted concrete WWII memorial on
the right looking fiercely over the gully. Take the first left thereafter,
and the 5-6th c. church of Ptghni*, an imposing ruined basilica, comes
immediately into view. Verin Ptghni (624 v) is adjacent. Getamej (515 v,
till 1948 Ketran) is the next village north inside the gorge. Founded in
1317, many of its residents came from Turkey in 1920. Its road network is
twisted at best.
To drive to Hrazdan inside the gorge, easiest way is to backtrack to the
main Sevan road and take the second Abovian exit, 5.7 km N of the GAI post
(“Abovian 2 km”). Turn left at the top, and cross the high bridge over
Hrazdan gorge. At 4.2 km from the Sevan highway is an intersection W to
Mrgashen. Keeping right, first village is Arzni (1700 v), Soviet Armenia’s
first spa town, founded in 1925. Until the late 1980s, the village was
predominantly Assyrian Christian. Many of this minority emigrated, their
houses taken over by refugees from Azerbaijan, and some rancor remains.
The mineral springs are N of the village, in the gorge. Old coins found in
cleaning one of springs prove the mineral waters were used from early
times. Treatment lasted 26 days for adults, 45 for children; Paleolithic
(Acheulian – 300-100,000 year old) stone tool open air workshops have been
found along the river near the spa. Entering the village, the right paved
fork leads to an unusual fine small domed 6th c. church* built on a square
platform. An odd late antique capital and column base, and the mouldings
of the platform, suggest that the church was placed atop a pagan shrine.
Next is Nor Hachn (7428 v), noteworthy for its diamond factory. Founded in
1953 on the site of abandoned Silachoy, it has a museum to the heroic 1920
battle of Hachn in Cilicia. W is Nor Artamet (786 v), home of the Zoology
Center of the Academy of Sciences, dedicated to preserving native fauna.
Byureghavan (6922 v) is E of the road. Founded in 1945, this industrial
town had a glass crystal factory, a marble works, the Arzni mineral water
plant, and a reinforced concrete production unit. Next is Nor Geghi (3871
v, till 1957 Chatghran), which had an agromechanical collective. In the
gorge E of Nurnus (276 v) is an important Stone Age (Upper Paleolithic)
stone tool production center. Just before the village of Argel (1996 v,
until recently Lusakert), a paved road angles down into the gorge, passing
a cemetery and the narrow turnoff left to S. Gevorg church, a basilica
built in 1890 embodying some earlier remains. In the wall of the gorge
behind the cemetery are two important Mousterian-Mesolithic cave sites,
Lusakert I and II, littered with worked obsidian flakes. The road
continues past a lake to the Gyumush hydroelectric plant. The map shows,
now incorrectly (the bridge is gone) this or another road leading to
Charentsavan by way of Karenis (600 v, former Gyumush), which preserves a
5th c. single-aisle basilica and the 15th c. Matteos Arakyal (Apostle
Mathew) monastery.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 56

Argel had a medieval fort and church, destroyed by Timur Lenk. There are
Bronze Age burials nearby. Back on the main road, which jogs right and
left at the far end of the village, one continues on to Karashamb (472 v).
Almost 3 km E is the small church of S. Gevorg, 7th c. Caves, negligible
remains of a cyclopean fort, Aghzibir deserted medieval hamlet. W of the
village is an important set of Bronze Age tombs excavated by Vahan
Hovhanisian, better known as leader of the Dashnaktsutyun (Armenian
Revolutionary Federation) in Armenia. The turnoff to Teghenik (386 v,
formerly Tghit) is 1.4 km ahead on the right. This village has a 7-8th c.
church and, on a hilltop 2.5 km W, a fort of the 13-9th c. BC. About 3.8 km
past the turnoff is Arzakan (1710 v, formerly Arzakyand), with quarries and
mineral springs. It is mentioned as Artavazdakan in medieval sources. 3km
NW is Neghutsi S. Astvatsatsin Vank, church of 10th c, gavit with 13th c.
inscriptions. Inhabitants came from Maku ca. 1829. Continuing on the left
fork leads up a side gorge to a series of pensionats, owned by the Interior
Ministry and other worthy organizations.
In Arzakan, turn right and then take the left (straight) fork to Bjni (1759
v). You will pass two ambitious, incomplete hotel/restaurant “obekt”, one
a complex fantasy covered with rounded river stones. Two tenths of a mile
beyond, across the river, is an impressive natural bridge. Entering Bjni,
the 9-10th c. fortress* of the Pahlavuni family will appear on a mesa
overlooking the river at the far end of the village, with the Astvatsatsin
church, 1031, looming below on the left. A hundred meters below the large
church, with a collection of excellent khachkars, is the small rectangular
S. Gevorg church of the 13th c., with older stones built in. A narrow dirt
road rises straight to a water tank near the NW end of the berd, thence a
50-meter scramble to the summit. Castle walls are poorly preserved. There
are remains of two cisterns, one with vaulting partly intact, and low
foundations of a 5th? C church near the far end, past the one standing
medieval structure. A covered passage leads to the river. Nestled between
the berd and the village is a small ruined shrine employing massive stones.
Solak (1538 v), is the next village, with Mayravank Astvatsatsin church of
the 7th c. perched on the hill, with fort and cemetery. There are several
Late Bronze Age/Iron Age forts in the vicinity. Kaghsi (1443 v) has 3rd
th
Mil. BC burial sites, 17-19 c. churches. The road next skirts an
artificial lake (restaurants) on the outskirts, and then enters Hrazdan,
(39463 v, formerly Akhta), noteworthy for the Hrazdanmash plant, jewel in
the crown of Armenia’s Soviet-era military-industrial complex, now
struggling for a reason to exist, and for the Hrazdan thermal power plants,
whose district heating pipes run hither and yon over a once pleasant
valley. While passing the lake of Hrazdan, a spur road leads up to the
left to Makravan, now an outlying neighborhood of Hrazdan and site of the
Makravank monastery. There is a half-ruined 11th c. chapel, a 13th c. domed
S. Astvatsatsin church, and the lower walls of the gavit. North of Hrazdan
is Jrarat (323 v, formerly R'andamal), incorporated in 1982 as the
administrative center of a dairy complex linked to Aghavnadzor. There is
also the district formerly known as Atabekian, for an early Secret Police
chief, with ruins of a medieval caravansaray.
Most easily reachable from the main Sevan highway rather than the gorge,
Charentsavan (20460 v) was founded in 1948 to house workers building the
Gumush hydroelectric station, called Lusavan, then renamed in 1967 in honor
of the famous but somewhat dissolute poet Eghishe Charents (born
Soghomonian in the city of Kars, who died in prison in 1937, accused of
nationalist deviation (note his photograph, with distinctive nose, blown up
on the wall of the Abovian St. Pizza di Roma, and his house museum on
Mashtots Blvd.). Charentsavan waxed fat on cheap electricity, becoming a

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 57

major industrial city. The Charentsavan machine-building factory, the

city’s largest employer, is no longer booming. Note at the entrance to the
city the bronze “Renaissance” monumental group, inspired by Charents’s
“Curly-headed Boy” opus. Inside the greater Charentsavan boundary is
Vardanavank (1647 v, until recently Alapars, anciently and perhaps now
again Aylaberk). Refounded in 1828-30 by immigrants from Maku and Khoy,
the village center has the General Vardan church, built by Prince Grigor in
901 and rebuilt in the 19th c. According to local legend, one of the stones
contains a drop of blood from Vardan Mamikonian, the hero of the famous
defeat of Avarayr on May 26, 451 at the hands of Persians attempting to
restore the Zoroastrian religion in Armenia.
Tsaghkadzor and the Marmarik Valley (Map H)
Best way to reach Tsaghkadzor, Armenia’s premier sports facility and the
former training ground of the Soviet Olympic Ski Team, is to take the make
a U-turn (at the marked location) just after the second (now non-existent)
Hrazdan exit from the Sevan highway. At 4.2 km, one goes straight at the
large traffic circle. At the second traffic circle (0.7 km further), going
straight takes one to Tsaghkadzor (1049 v, in Persian times Darachichak),
the Kecharis Monastery*, and the ski slopes. Right goes to Meghradzor and
Hankavan.
Turning left from the main square of Tsaghkadzor, the Writer’s Union guest
house is relatively opulent and available to paying customers. The road
bearing right through town leads to Kecharis Monastery, founded early in
the 11th c. by Grigor Magistros Pahlavuni (see Havuts Tar above), who built
the S. Grigor church (the northernmost), and may also have built and
occupied the smaller funerary chapel of S. Nshan (1051). When the
Zakarians liberated the region, they gave the church to Prince Vasak
Khaghbakian, father of Prosh, who sponsored the Katoghike church and
(probably) the gavit of S. Grigor. Architect of the Katoghike was Vetsik,
who left a khachkar inscribed, “Remember in your prayers the servant of
God, the stonecutter Vetsik, who built this new church and, with its
completion, completed his own life as well.” About 100 meters beyond the
monastery is the smaller funerary church of S. Harutyun (the Resurrection)
from 1220, sitting in a medieval cemetery. Close to the monastery is the
House Museum of the Orbeli brothers, distant descendants of the Orbelian
princely family and distinguished scholars: Levon (1882-1958) was a famous
physiologist and member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences; his younger
brother Hovsep (1887-1961) was Russia’s leading Orientalist and director of
the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad; Ruben the eldest (1880-1943) was the
father of underwater archaeology in the USSR. Only one was born in
Tsaghkadzor, but all spent childhood years here when their father worked
here in the Czar’s service.
At the monastery, the left fork goes to the Armenian Olympic training
facility, the right fork to the ski slope. The lower chair lift runs all
year, creaky but charming (500 dram), with excellent views of the forests
surrounding. Skiing is indeed possible -- small entrepreneurs in the
parking area rent out skis and boots, on a one-size-fits-all basis.
Following the Marmarik river (reputedly rich in fishing possibilities) from
the second roundabout, jog left, and pass at 7.5 km from the 2nd circle the
turnoff to Aghavnadzor (765 v, till 1948 Babakishi, founded in 1829 by
emigrants from Alashkert). At 9.4 km, Marmarik (469 v, formerly Dali
Pasha) with various hostels and summer camps. S. Hovhannes church in
village. At 11.5 km, the turn-off for Meghradzor (1783 v, formerly
T'aycharukh) on the Meghradzor (“honey gorge”) river. Another 0.8 km
further, a footbridge left crosses the Marmarik and a foot track ascends

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 58

the wooded S. slope in a 15-minute stiff climb to the 12th c. “Chalcedonian”

(Georgian Orthodox) monastery of Tezharuyk*, built by the Georgian
general/dynast Ivane Zakarian in 1196-99. His vassal, Prince Bubak, and
the latter’s heirs are buried in the gavit. N above Meghradzor, a road
leads past a disused gold mine awaiting foreign investment, and the 9 km-
long rail tunnel under the mountain, connecting Hrazdan and Yerevan with
the Dilijan-Kazakh line. The road over the mountain is a jeep track,
closed in winter.
After Meghradzor, a spur left goes to the hamlet of Dzorak, formerly
Korchlu. Next comes Pyunik, formerly the Azeri village of Akhundov, (till
1939 Dadaghishlagh), named for a famed Azeri communist who, among other
things, translated Marx and Lenin into Azeri Turkish. Next, just before a
disused reservoir and some excellent camping sites, is Artavaz (823 v,
formerly Takyarlu, an Azeri village), with Artavadz Vank in or near the
village and a ruined church across the river. The asphalt ends just beyond
the village of Hank'avan, (110 v, once Berzen or Novomikhayelovka), founded
in the late 18th century by Greek miners brought in to dig the copper ore
nearby. Rising at various points are dirt roads leading N and W up to the
grassy hilltops above. In good weather and a sturdy car, it is allegedly
possible to drive over the mountains to Aparan.
Abovian and the Foothills (Map H)
Beginning on the Sevan highway, one takes the first exit right, signposted
Abovian. First village is Balahovit (2299 v, till 1968 Mhub, renamed by
the Supreme Soviet at the request of an Armenian-American group to
commemorate an ancient village of that name in Turkey), settled in 1828-29,
site of Yerevan Veterinary Institute’s experimental station. Abovian
(36798 v), a new industrial city founded in 1963 on the site of the early
village of Elar, was named after Khachatur Abovian, Yerevan school
inspector, climber of Mt. Ararat, and founder of modern Armenian literature
(1809-1848? -- his mysterious disappearance, perhaps at the hands of
Czarist authorities fearful of Europe-inspired revolutions, has never been
explained). Abovian is laid out ambitiously with wide streets and high-
rise apartments. The ancient village of Elar, a key site at the time of
the Urartian conquest, occupies a hill just S of town, but has been almost
entirely obliterated by the modern cemetery (chapel of S. Stepanos). Elar
was inhabited from the 4th millennium BC, as attested by chamber tombs and
other finds. An Urartian cuneiform inscription of Argishti I refers to it
as Darani.
Turning right at the traffic circle before Abovian, about 3 km from the
Sevan highway, one passes Mayakovski (1359 v, formerly Shahab, renamed
after the Russian poet). Right of the road is a locked basilica church of
S. Tamar (or maybe S. Cross), started, per an inscription, in 1825.
Inhabitants came from Hijvaz village of Salmast district in 1829-30. From
Mayakovski, a paved road turns S to Dzoraghbyur (1451 v), cyclopean fort
nearby, shrine. Inhabitants came from Khoy, Alashkert in 1828-30. E is
Dzoraghbyur is Zovk (575 v, until 1978 Kyulluja).
Continuing SE from Mayakovski, however, one sees just before the village of
Aramus a long, narrow hill, just right of the road, with remains of an
Urartian (8th c.?) circuit wall, with sherd scatter, some chipped obsidian,
and sketchy house walls. Aramus (2178 v), is listed in early manuscripts
as Aramonk. By legend, got its name as the place where Queen Shamiram
looked for the corpse of Ara the beautiful. In the 4th c, the village
belonged to the Katholikos in Ejmiatsin. Left of the village main street,
there are partly restored ruins of a late 6th or 7th c. tetraconch church,
probably built by Katholikos Hovhan. Katholikos David I Aramonetsi (728-

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 59

741) built a church here and made it his seat. Other medieval
constructions in vicinity, and 13-14th c. khachkars. A new paved road
running N from before Aramus ends at the new and ambitious “Getap”
hotel/restaurant compound on the Getar river, well fortified and suitable
for weekend assignations or gangland funerals.
Beyond Aramus, the road continues E to Kamaris (1279 v, until 1978
Gyamrez). There is an unexcavated Bronze Age/early Iron Age fort of Gyamrez
S of the road to Geghashen. Bronze age tombs 2 km SW of fort; in village
18-19th c ruined church, inscription of 1840 refers to destruction of Akori
village; shrine of S. Astvatsatsin rebuilt in 1258; in 1679, residents came
from Maku, in 1829 from Khoy and Bayazit. SE of Kamaris is Geghashen (2389
v, till 1935 Chatghran, till 1967 Hrazdan), with various shrines and a
ruined church; inhabitants came from Ispahan, Alashkert, Khoy in 1829-35
and 1870.
To the Geghama Mountains (Map H)
The road to the Hatis and Geghama mountain slopes begins at the first
signposted turn-off from the Sevan highway to Abovyan. From the off-ramp,
continue NE about 3 km to the first traffic light, with a large pink
building on the right and the Abovian train station ahead on the left.
Turn right at the traffic light, and follow the road past the cemetery,
with S. Stepanos church of 1851 built on medieval and prehistoric
precursors. Bear left at the gas station, first to Nor Gyugh (981 v), with
the 1886 S. Astvatsatsin church on the right (locked). Then comes Kotayk
(1069 v, until 1965 Yeldovan or Yelkovan), settled 1830-31 from Bayazit,
with S. Nshan and S. Astvatsatsin churches in village. Continue straight (L
fork) to Kaputan (692 v), with the tiny vertical two-story Kaptavank church
of 1349 standing alone on a tall hill NW of village. To approach the
church by car, turn right into the village, then take a dirt road left that
leads behind the church hill and past the cemetery. Bypassing Kaputan, the
paved road continues to Hatis (238 v, until 1978 Kyankyan), with dairy
production. The inhabitants came as refugees from Bayazit in 1918-20.
The area is a treeless upland, with eroded volcanic cones (Mt. Hatis rises
to 2528 m), tumbled boulders, and wonderful dirt roads for mountain biking
leading toward the far Geghama mountains. From behind the school in Hatis,
a dirt road leads NNE about 3 km to Astghaberd, a cyclopean fort used as a
place of refuge from the Bronze Age till medieval times.
Continuing past Hatis, one passes the village of Zovashen (102 v, until
1948 Dallaklu), founded in 1914 by refugees from Turkey. E and S are ruined
settlements. A few km beyond Zovashen the road reaches a T, with a fairly
good asphalt road leading NNE (left), past an empty reservoir, completed in
1982, to Sevaberd* (207 v, till 1948 Gharaghala, both meaning “Black
Castle”). There is indeed a black stone castle, or at least the tumbled
stones from one, on the right through a hole in the fence as you enter the
village. The villagers say the fort was the stronghold of Ashot II Yerkat
(“Iron Ashot”), King of the Armenians from 914 to 928, and report that a
sword blade found a few years back in the rubble is now in a museum. There
is another prehistoric fort about 3 km NE. This upland village, end of the
paved road and jumping off point for the Geghama mountain range, survives
on stock-rearing and wheat. Much of the population has emigrated, with 65
families remaining, 7 of which Yezidi. Mkhitar the mayor lives in down in
Abovian. A bad jeep trail leads E from the village to Aknalich (“White
Lake”), about 15 km, with fishing and reportedly splendid spring/summer
wildflowers. Above the lake toward Sevsar and Shekhichingil are spread out
a gallery of petroglyphs from the 6th-1st millennium BC, including
swastikas, hunting scenes, ritual dances, and mythological images. Just N
of the lake are two fish-shaped vishap (dragon stones)

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 60

Returning by the other branch of the T, one passes Zar (852 v), and Akunk'
(1246 v, Armenians and Kurds, until 1946 Bashgyugh/Bashkend, by which it is
still known), founded in 1829. A paved spur goes N from the Akunk-Zar road
0.5 km E of Akunk, leading to a striking fold in the rock with the late
medieval Poghos-Petros shrine* below a series of caves and springs, since
antiquity and even today a place of pilgrimage and sacrifice. There are
cyclopean fort remains nearby, and the hillsides between Zar and Akunk are
rich in Paleolithic and Neolithic open air workshops. Katnaghbyur (363 v,
formerly Aghadzor) is just S of Akunk. This region, known in Persian times
as Kirk Bulagh (“Forty Springs”), gave the Getar river its earlier name.
The East Road from Abovian (Map H)
Continuing N at the main intersection at the entrance to Abovian, an older
asphalt road leads over foothills and wheat fields to Jraber (281 v, with
forestry, pig farming). Some 1 km N, between the old and new highways, is
an area used by Paleolithic man to chip obsidian tools in the Olduvian,
Acheulian, and Mousterian epochs of the Lower Paleolithic. Then Fantan (656
v), founded in 1829 on S slope of Gutanasar Mt. Three of its villagers won
Hero of Socialist Labor status for their high wheat yields. The
inhabitants of Lernanist (1878 v, till 1978 Verin Akhta), came from Persia
in 1827-28, S. Hakob shrine and khachkar.
Into Mt. Ara (Map H)
From entrance ramp to the Red Cross Hospital on the Ashtarak Highway, pass
the villages of Kasakh (3127 v), near the Defense Ministry, and Proshyan
(3214 v). At 10.5 km take right off-ramp (signposted “Egvard”). At 12.3
km turn left (no sign) on asphalt road. At 13.9 km turn left (signposted
“Nor Yerznka”), asphalt. Nor Erznka (1087 v), founded in 1949. Go uphill
through village (mudholes). At 17.4 km keep straight at fork in road. At
17.7 km bear right at 3-way fork (asphalt). At 18.4 km continue past the
factory (on right), orchards. At 24.2 km turn right at T (by pump station
-- going left takes you through a Yedidi hamlet to an impassible track up
the back side of the mountain). At 24.4 km turn left over canal onto rocky
jeep track (going straight leads eventually to Yeghvard).
Ascend along a gully approximately 1.5 km, or a 30-minute uphill walk into
the heavily eroded and mysterious volcanic crater of Mt. Ara*, named after
the handsome early Armenian god/hero/king killed and brought back to life
under mythological circumstances involving Queen Semiramis (but less
elegantly called in Perso-Russian times Garniyarigh -- "Torn Stomach" in
Turkish). Built into a mossy cave, complete with sacred spring, is the
shrine of Kuys Varvara (the Virgin Barbara), also known as Tsaghkevank,
with saint’s tomb, altar, ferns, and candle vendors. The Vatican has
decided that St. Barbara, like St. Christopher, is probably mythical, but
if she did exist she was martyred by her cruel father for espousing
Christianity, or alternatively snatched away by angels. Local holy person
will say prayers and help you nick the comb or ear of rooster or sheep
before you sacrifice it down below in gratitude for/anticipation of the
saint’s healing intercession. Picnic tables available.
In the gorge leading into the crater are house and fortification walls.
Further up the crater to the right of the shrine is another small cave with
a cross and some pictures of the saint. To the left of the shrine, along a
narrow path, are faint traces of a medieval building. There is at least one
bear roaming the mountain, and two snakes; also, other caves, rock
formations, and a strenuous but scenic hike around the crater rim (ca. 3
hours; the trail up, like St. Barbara herself, existentially challenged).

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 61

To Yeghvard and Buzhakan (Map H)

At the far (W) end of the Kievyan bridge turn right, paralleling Hrazdan
gorge. At 2.3 km, take the right fork, passing the half-finished
Davitashen bridge. At approximately 6.5 km, you reach Zovuni (3167 v),
founded in 1965 for the residents of Zovuni village (mostly Yezidis) near
Aparan, which was flooded out upon construction of the Aparan reservoir.
Taking the right fork in the village and turning right again on a dirt road
150 m down, take the left fork twice to reach a promontory overlooking the
Hrazdan gorge. This is the site of the medieval castle of Karmir Berd*
(“Red Castle”), built on a prehistoric fortress. At the NE corner, the
Iron Age gateway is preserved, including a cuneiform inscription that is
still undeciphered. The leading Russian expert dismissed it as a medieval
or modern forgery, but it may well have been an effort by an illiterate
local dynast to imitate the Urartians at Erebuni across the way. The paved
road continues on to Kanakeravan (2329 v) and Mrgashen (1216 v, till 1964
“the town attached to Sovkhoz No. 36”, founded in 1950).
To reach Yeghvard, follow the main road turning slightly left. Pass under
the underpass signposted for Ashtarak and Arzni. Entering the outskirts of
Yeghvard, go to the end of the divided bit of road and turn right at 16.5
km (shop “Presents” on right). Continue another 1.8 km to the edge of town
(“Commercial Shop” on left), turn sharply left and 50 meters thereafter zig
right again. This is the road that leads to Buzhakan and Aparan.
Yeghvard (8499v) is a large, tidy, ancient village with the small, two-
story S. Astvatsatsin (“Mother of God”) Church (1301 or 1321), steeple
visible from afar, and an important 5/6th century ruined basilica about 350
m NNW of it.
Some 4 km past the Yeghvard zigzag, at the entrance to the village of
Zoravan (894 v, formerly Pokravan), is a small cemetery on the left,
turning at which one reaches after a few hundred yards the Zoravar church,
a ruined circular church and graveyard, built by Prince Grigor Mamikonian
(661-685), on the lower slopes of Mt. Ara. In the cemetery above is a
small funerary chapel. About 200 m N of Zoravan, a dirt road right
(opposite an old stone-cutting plant) leads in 1.2 km to a reservoir and
(right of the road) the important fortified settlement of Dovri*, primarily
Urartian but with Bronze Age, Hellenistic, and medieval traces as well.
Take the right fork and park by the little church of 1879, which
incorporates khachkars from an abandoned medieval hamlet. The Urartian
fortress walls are best preserved on the N edge.
A distance of 10 km from Yeghvard is Aragyugh (1767 v, till 1946 Gharajoran
or Karajeyran), birthplace of an early ASSR finance commissar. (signposted
“Aparan 30, Hrazdan 25”). Supposedly, there are ruins of a 5th c. square-
apsed church and a 7th c S. Astvatsatsin in or near the village. A side
road leads W to the hamlet of Saralanj (212 v, till 1945 Tulinabi), whose
inhabitants came originally from Mush region.
Bear leftish toward Aparan and continue 5.5 km to an unsignposted asphalt
road to the right, which leads across the valley to the village of Buzhakan
(985 v, once Babakishi) and the splendid ruined Teghenyats* monastery in a
forested fold of the Tsaghkunyats mountain range. Set between two streams,
with a distant view of Mt. Ararat, the site has sheep and horse-shaped
tombstones, an impressive half-intact gavit (narthex) beside the ruined
sanctuary (12th century), parts of a monumental dining room (13th c.), and
lots of atmosphere. From the entrance to Buzhakan, take the right fork
through the center of the village. At the far end of the village (1.8 km),
where the asphalt turns left, keep straight along a dirt road. Continue 1
km to a large, half-built pensionat, then go straight another 0.6 km to a

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 62

fork, at which turn left. Bump along the rutted track, cross the stream,
up to the top of the rise. Bear right and the monastery buildings will be
visible on the left. The road, dubiously passable, allegedly goes on to
Tsaghkadzor.
There are walking/mountain bike trails and picnic ambiance. The final bit
of road is not recommended for street cars (except someone else’s). On the
east side of the village of Buzhakan is a 6th-7th century ruined church.

EXPLORING LORI
Lori is located on Armenia’s northern border, the largest in area of Armenia’s
eleven regions. Bounded on all sides by rugged mountains and cut by sheer
gorges, Lori is a dramatically beautiful region, sparsely settled except for
the valleys of the Pambak, Debed and Dzoraget rivers. Apart from richly
furnished tombs, the early history of the region is little documented, but its
medieval monuments are an interesting fusion of Georgian and Armenian,
Georgian dominant politically, Armenian culturally. Bone of contention
between the King (in Persian eyes a vassal Vali) of Georgia and the Khan of
Yerevan during the 18th century, this region was incorporated into the Russian
Empire in September 1801 as part of Russia’s annexation of Georgia. Until
1918, Lori N of the Pushkin pass was part of the Borchalu region of Tbilisi
Gubernia, considered part of Georgia despite its mixed Armenian, Azeri,
Russian, Greek, and Georgian population. In a short, sharp war over New Years
1919, a war both Georgians and Armenians deprecated, Armenian troops under
their famous war leader Dro pushed N up the Debed river along the railroad,
capturing Sadakhlo and beyond. The British military mission in Batumi
intervened to broker a cease-fire and partial troop withdrawal, with the
modern Georgia-Armenia border one consequence.
Lori’s more modern history is shaped by the terrible earthquake of December 7,
1988, centered on the eastern Lori village of Shirakamut. This disaster (best
known for the havoc it wrought in Gyumri) destroyed the city of Spitak,
damaged Vanadzor (Kirovakan) and Stepanavan, and left scars it will take
generations to heal.
Lori is home to Haghpat and Kober monasteries -- two of Armenia’s loveliest --
and a host of other important medieval monuments, to the spectacularly sited
Lori Castle (Lori Berd), to a pleasing Arboretum in Gyulagarak, and to a range
of stunning landscapes. Though lacking a major resort destination, Lori’s
importance as the land transport lifeline to Georgia has contributed to the
development of a growing number of small hotels and restaurants on the main
routes N.
Spitak and Eastward (Map I)
Approaching Spitak from the South from Aparan via the 2153 m Pambak Pass, you
pass on your right hand Saramej (870 v., till 1946 Chotur, church of 1906),
with Jrashen (1944 v., till 1940 Vordnav, 19th c. church) on the left and,
further W, Lernavan (967 v., till 1946 Ghachaghan). This latter has the
ruined settlement of Kharabak 2 km W, and a 19th c. church in the village.
On the outskirts of Spitak (9349 v., till 1949 Hamamlu) you see various
housing projects built by the international community to shelter the thousands
made homeless by the December 1988 earthquake. On the hill is a monument to
the estimated 4000 killed in Spitak. There is a new, ornate church just off
the road and a semi-adequate hotel reached by turning left after the new
Cultural Center and before the descent to the railroad tracks.
From Spitak, a road leads S up the mountain to Lernantsk (836 v., till 1950
Spitak, with S. Minas Church of 1910), whence a disused road climbs to the

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 63

2378m Spitak pass. North of Spitak is Arevashogh (1756 v., till 1978
Zigdamal, 19th c. church, ruined fortress nearby). The map shows a bad dirt
road continuing N from Arevashogh 33 km to Urasar and Stepanavan, but locals
are highly skeptical that it is passable. East on the main road to Vanadzor,
following the Pambak river and the railroad, you pass the turnoffs for
Karadzor (220 v., founded 1836); Ghursal (426 v.) with a ruined 7th c. church
of S. Gevorg, and Nor Khachakap (449 v., formerly Saral); and Lernapat (1199
v., Hajighara till 1946, then Makarashen till 1959), situated in a beautiful
mountain valley. It preserves a neglected basilica of 1868 and has an Early
Iron Age fortress on a nearby hill. The right/lower fork continues to Halavar
(115 v.), once occupied by Azeris but now home to a small population of
refugees from Azerbaijan. N of the main road, Arjut (564 v.) has a ruined
mosque; Darpas (834 v.).
North to Stepanavan (Map I, J)
Just before entering Stepanavan, near a cluster of high-rise apartments, a
side road takes off north, signposted for Stepanavan. Passing a military
base, you reach the village of Bazum (672 v., till 1978 Bezobdal), with
Berdatagh ruined fort on a hill 1.5 km NE. W is Aznvadzor (432 v., till 1940
Khanjughaz, then Gyuzeldara, Azeri until 1988). Passing through a long, dank
tunnel (which avoids the once deadly 2037 m Pushkin pass), you emerge into a
part of Armenia incorporated in Russian imperial times into the Georgian
district of Borchalu. There is an excellent roadside khorovats stand among
pretty woods. Beyond, Gargar (969 v., formerly Gerger Hay -- "Armenian
Gerger") has a ruined church and S. Amenaprkich shrine.
Off to the W is Pushkino (518 v., till 1937 Gerger Rus, a Russian village);
the main road passes Gyulagarak (see below), and Amrakits (447 v., formerly
Kirov), this latter with a newish motel ($20/night, hot water) on the
Stepanavan side. Just after the motel, look right across the gorge to see the
ruins of Lori Berd. The city and former regional capital of Stepanavan
(14290 v., till 1923 Jalaloghlu) is located on a dramatic green plateau beside
the remarkable gorge of the Dzoraget river. There are two pensionats SW of
town on the edge of the forest, the Vahagn and the Anahit, which accept
overnight visitors (No hot water but the price is right). About 150 m SW of
the main traffic circle (with huge statue of the town’s namesake, the famous
Baku revolutionary martyr Stepan Shahumian) is a modern bright orange tuff
cultural center housing a museum to Shahumian. A ruined 5-6th c. church has
disappeared, but there is an 11th c restored functioning basilica church E of
the main Vanadzor-Tashir road about 0.5 km S of the circle.
Turning right at the back corner of the cultural center, a bumpy road leads W
up hill to (3 km) an attractive shrine/picnic site overlooking the city, and
then to the villages of Armenis and Urasar (300 v., formerly Kuybishev,
renamed for the 2992 m Mt. Urasar). The road continues up and over to
Katnaghbyur (613 v., till 1935 Ghotughbulagh), which has a cold spring
considered a sacred spot since antiquity.
Along the Gargar River -- Hnevank (Map J)
Turning E in the village of Gyulagarak (1489 v.), the road passes a ruined
church of 1874. Shortly after, the main road turns left while a poor paved
road straight/right leads S toward the hills, passing the much rebuilt ruined
6th c. Tormak church and a new khorovats restaurant to end at a sanatorium and
the gates of the “DendroPark”*. This splendid botanical garden, covering 35
hectares, was founded in 1931 to collect, study and acclimatize to Armenian
conditions useful trees and other plants. Kept in excellent condition by its
director, the son of the founder (buried on the site), the Dendropark is a
cool and beautiful sanctuary unlike anywhere else in Armenia.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 64

Continuing E from Gyularak parallel to the Gargar River, Hobardzi (540 v.) is
reported to have a ruined 6th c. single-aisle church. Toward the E end of
Vardablur (873 v.), a muddy road leads N across the fields to the impressive
gorge of the Dzoraget River and to the ruined 6/7th c. Jgrashen church on the
edge.
Entering Kurtan (1438 v.) from the West, you pass a small ruined single-aisle
church. The main road then angles right to cross the stream. Keeping
straight on toward the village, you pass a number of large official buildings
and then, on the left, after a large school yard and fountain, reach the
ethnographic museum, open 11-5. A bit beyond is a partially restored S.
Astvatsatsin single-aisle basilica, allegedly of the 5th c. Back on the main
road, a right turn on a dirt road leads to Antaramut (242 v., till 1948
Kolageran), with a ruined church and various unobtrusive bore holes dug by the
U.S. Geological Survey in 1998 for a joint U.S.-Armenian coal exploration
project. The paved road from Kurtan gradually descends E along the side of
the gorge, heading toward the Debed river. At 6.3 km from the Kurtan
intersection, after a series of switchbacks, you reach a spring, monument and
picnic table, from which spot a rough track descends to Hnevank* on a hill
inside the dramatically beautiful gorge, near where the Dzoraget and Gargar
rivers join. This splendid monastery, decorated with fine stone carving, was
built originally in the 7th c., but totally rebuilt by lord Smbat of the then
Georgian but later Armenian Orbeli/Orbelian family, ancestor of the Armenian
princes of Syunik, in 1144, as a Georgian inscription around the drum attests.
There is a gavit of 1186-1206, and several impressive service buildings rise
out of the tall grass.
It seems likely to me that this was the monastery known by 13th century
historians and scribes as Pghndzahank ("Coppermine"), presumably from some
miracle worked at the mines nearby. According to Kirakos Gandzaketsi, Atabek
Ivane Zakarian took this monastery from the Armenian church and made it a
Georgian/Chalcedonian monastery. The remains of both Ivane and his son Avag
were brought here to be buried. Stepanos Orbelian recounts how a precious
relic of the True Cross, appropriated by Atabek Ivane and stashed in
Pghndzahank, was ransomed back for 1000 gold dahekans by Libarit Orbelian and
brought back to Noravank after it had miraculously caused the surrender of the
fortress of Charek (now in Azerbaijan). Hnevank's Georgian name reportedly
translates to "True Cross," perhaps an echo of the story. The 13th c. priest
and scribe Simeon, two of whose manuscripts survive, copied in the Pghndzahank
scriptorium a work of Gregory of Nyssa and translated from Georgian to
Armenian a theological tract of the Neoplatonist Proclus. His colophons
confirm that Pghndzahank was a Georgian monastery near Lori (indeed only a few
km W).
About 1.5 km beyond Hnevank, a deteriorated dirt road cuts back toward the
monastery, crossing the river on a modern bridge and switchbacking up the far
side to emerge at Arevatsag (580 v., till 1978 Nerkin Uzunlar). However,
just before leaving the gorge the road passes two steep hills facing one
another across the gorge, each garnished with a small fortress/monastery. The
right fork in Arevatsag leads to Tsater (311 v.), which boasts a church.
Along the Dzoraget -- Lori Berd (Map J)
Crossing the bridge over the aptly named Dzoraget (“Gorgeriver”) at Stepanavan
and turning right at the traffic circle, bump along the road about 1.5 km
until just before a cluster of pipe-shaped “temporary” shelters for earthquake
victims. The field on both sides of the road is full of huge (10x2x3m) Bronze
Age chamber tombs* formed from massive boulders. In some of them, rich bronze
grave goods and horse burials were found. Continue to the village of Lori
Berd (303 v.). There a road angles right through the village, ending at the

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 65

spectacular fortress of Lori** (“Lori Berd”). This was the capital of David
Anhoghin (989-1049) of the Tashir-Dzoraget Kingdom, and was a feudal center of
the Kyurikian family. It was taken over by the Orbelian lords of Georgia in
the early 12th c, then came under the sway of the Zakarian brothers Ivane and
Zakare. When the Mongols arrived, Lori Berd was the capital of Shahnshah,
Zakare's son. Kirakos Gandzaketsi described its fall (Tr. R. Bedrosian:)
Chaghatai, the commander of all the detachments of the pagans, heard
about the fortification of the city of Lorhe and about the abundance
of treasures in it, for located there were the home of prince
Shahnshah and his treasury. [Chaghatai] took with him select weapons
and many siege machines, and in full readiness he went and settled in
around [Lorhe], besieging the city.

Prince Shahnshah took his wife and children, secretly went into the
valley there and secured them in a cave. He gave superintendence of
the city to his father-in-law['s sons] but because they were
weaklings, they spent their time eating and drinking and getting
drunk, trusting in the strength of the city walls, and not in God.

The enemy arrived. They dug at the base of the walls and made them
collapse, then settled around them and kept watch so that no one
would flee. Now once the inhabitants of the city saw that [the
Mongols] had taken the city, they began to crowd with fear and filled
up the valley. When the enemy saw that, they started to enter the
city and indiscriminately cut down men, women, and children taking
their goods and belongings as booty. They discovered the treasures of
prince Shahnshah which he had extorted and robbed from those he
subdued. [He had] constructed there a sturdy treasury which no one
could see, since the mouth of the pit was so narrow that treasures
could be cast in, but nothing could be removed. They killed
Shahnshah's father-in-law['s sons] and they did reconnaissance around
all the fortresses in the district taking many both by threats and by
treachery. For the Lord gave them into their hands.

Surrounded E, S, and W by the sheer gorges of the Dzoraget and Urut rivers,
the N side of the promontory is protected by a massive stone wall with
multiple towers. Preserved inside the fortress are two baths, the one on the
W edge with complex clay piping inside the masonry. A rectangular roofed
structure incorporating various medieval tombstones and Christianized by a
couple of flanking khachkars, has no E apse but rather a shallow niche in the
S wall facing Mecca, a reminder of Muslim occupation of the fortress till the
18th c. Lori Berd is attested as being inhabited under the Russians, but few
traces are left of its recent history. A medieval bridge over the Urut is
reached by a steep and winding boulder-cobbled path from the gate, but only
one pier base is left of a second bridge over the Dzoraget.
Backtracking through Lori Berd, the NE fork leads to Lejan (627 v.) with a
19th c. church on 5th c. foundations. Lejan hosted in 1907 the 3rd Conference
of Borchalu Bolsheviks. Agarak (975 v.) is an ancient village, with a ruined
5-6th c. S. Astvatsatsin church, a 17-18th c. church, and a fountain monument
of the 10-11th c. Near Yaghdan (131 v.) is a medieval bridge and Karmir Khach
(“Red Cross”) church of the 13-14th c. N up the gorge is Hovnanadzor (67 v.,
till 1950 Tazagyugh, founded in 1867), with a medieval cemetery in the gorge
housing the tomb of Prince Tute (1241). Koghes (240 v.) reportedly has a 13th
c. church. Karmir (“Red”) Agheg (139 v.) has traces of an old fort and Aghek
church. On the flank of Mt. Shekaghbyur, Mghart (361 v.) has a 14th c. shrine.
The village and its produce belonged to Odzun monastery in the 18th c. Beyond
Mghart, the road joins up with the once-paved, now deplorable N-S road from

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 66

Odzun to Arevatsagh (one small church in village; W of village on a hill on

the L bank of the Dzoraget are ruins of a medieval guard post; Late
Bronze/Early Iron tomb field nearby.
North from Stepanavan (Map J)
Just N of Stepanavan, a road angles NE toward Bovadzor (170 v., formerly
Maksim Gorki), Urut (819 v.)and Sverdlov (693 v., till 1940 Haydarbek, renamed
for the Bolshevik leader). This last has a 6-7th c. S. Gevorg or Grigor
church. This road leads to Privolnoye (714 v.), with Khuchapi Vank of the
13th c., and then crosses the “Wolf’s Gates” pass into Georgia at Aghkyrpi.
The main road follows the Tashir river N, passing Saratovka (322 v. mixed
Russian, Armenian); a left turn leads to Novoseltsovo (102 v.) with a Russian
school and peat bogs.
The former regional capital of Tashir (9151 v.) was founded in 1844 and named
Vorontsovka after the Russian viceroy, then renamed Kalinino in 1935 after
Soviet functionary Mikhail I. Kalinin, who rose to be Chairman of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 1938-46. The Tashir cheese factory used to
produced 33% of the USSR’s Swiss cheese. Turning E in Tashir, the road leads
to Medovka (299 v., old fort nearby) and Lernahovit (1063 v., till 1978
Gharakilisa), with a 12-13th c. church.
Turning West in Tashir, a sadly deteriorated asphalt road leads past the
villages of Blagodarnoye (176 v., a Russian settlement once known as
Kirilovka); Meghvahovit (108 v., formerly Karaisa); Noramut (till 1991
Gharaghala, with tomb field, an old bridge, caves, and a ruined medieval fort;
Katnarat (S of Blagodarnoye) (636 v., founded in 1923 as a horse-breeding
Sovkhoz). It then rises into the mountains, crossing a majestic empty upland
(closed in winter) of grass and eagles, and eventually descends into Shirak
Marz.
Back on the main road, you pass Mikhaylovka (569 v., originally Imirhasan,
population mostly Russian), and Dzoramut (392 v., formerly Evli) to reach the
Georgian border. A right fork leads to Petrovka (161 v., founded 1920), and
Norashen (1266 v., formerly Bogdanovka), which boasts a museum. 5 km S is a
6-5th c. BC fort, excavation of which produced weapons and figurines. Beyond
Norashen in the hills S of the border are Apaven (85 v., formerly Sarkar),
Artsni (227 v., formerly Kizildash), and Sarchapet (1529 v.), with a ruined
church and fort nearby. On Mt. Lok to the N is an 18th c. pilgrimage site.
By-roads NW from Tashir or W from before Dzoramut lead to Metsavan (4553 v.,
originally Ghoshakilisa --“double church”, then Shahnazar till 1978), with a
5-6th church and another of the 10th c. There is a ruined fort nearby and a
“Tevavor Khach” shrine. W of the village are outcrops of red agate and
Acheulian open air workshops. Further W are Dzyunashogh (176 v., till
recently Kizilshafak), and Paghaghbyur (69 v., formerly Sovukbulagh -- “Cold
Spring”). South from Dzyunashogh or W from Tashir is Dashtadem (162 v.,
formerly the Azeri village of Ilmazlu).
Vanadzor and Eastward (Map I)
Vanadzor (99664 v., till 1935 Gharakilisa or “Black Church,” till 1992
Kirovakan after Bolshevik Caucasus specialist Sergei M. Kirov/Kostrikov,
murdered in 1934 and buried in the Kremlin Wall) is the capital of Lori Marz,
Armenia’s third largest city, laid out ambitiously in a once-lovely valley now
hideously blighted by a huge chemical plant. The plant, privatized in 1999,
produced a wide range of chemicals, and also specialized in growing industrial
crystals. In 1998, the remaining workers of the plant were using the gas-
fired crystal growing boxes to bake potatoes. Vanadzor lost 564 residents in

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 67

the 1988 earthquake, but preserved most of its grand main street. There is a
high-rise hotel with intermittent running water and other amenities.
Vanadzor’s history dates back to the Bronze Age, with interesting tombs and
other material finds now, in principle, housed in the local museum. The town
received its name possibly as early as the 13th c, from a black stone church on
a nearby hill. Totally destroyed in 1826 by Hasan Khan during the Russo-
Persian war, the city enjoyed considerable uplift from the opening of the
railroad to Tbilisi in 1899. In May 1918, General Nazarbekian’s outnumbered
troops fought the Turkish Army to a creditable tie, pushing them back a few
days later at the crucial battle of Sardarapat. On the N side of the Spitak-
Vanadzor highway, about 2 km W of the city, there is a little shrine in the
ruins of a church, site of a planned monument to that battle.
Driving E from Vanadzor on the road to Dilijan, one passes the suburb of
Shahumian (1325 v.), the turn-off S for Antarashen (157 v.), the Russian
village of Lermontovo (558 v., till 1941 Voskresenovka), Margahovit (2577
v., till 1978 Hamzachiman, with 3rd millennium BC antiquities on Sarisop), and
Fioletovo (841 v.). This latter, along with Voskresenovka, was founded in
the late 1820s by Russian schismatics exiled from Tambov District. Formerly
Nikitino, the village was renamed in 1936 in honor of Ivan T. Fioletov, an old
Socialist activist shot with the other Baku Commissars in 1918. From
Margahovit a bad jeep track leads S over the mountain to the gold-mining town
of Meghradzor in the Marmarik river valley. An impressively underutilized 11
km (?) rail tunnel cuts through the same mountain.
North from Vanadzor on the Debed -- Dsegh, Kober (Map I, J)
Taking the main road to Alaverdi (most easily reached by staying on the N bank
of the Pambak, taking an inconspicuous left at a traffic light rather than
crossing the bridge to reach Vanadzor) you bypass the village of Gugark (3166
v., Yeghaplu till 1945, then Meghrut till 1983) with a 19th c. S. Sargis
church, and then enter the scenic gorge of the Debed River*. Past the turnoff
W for Karaberd (120 v.), Pambak (256 v.) has castle ruins. Vahagnadzor (255
v., formerly Shagali), has Sisi ruined fortress. A bridge crosses the river
to reach Yeghegnut (594 v., founded 1857, till 1935 Ghamishkut), with S.
Kiraki shrine 2-3 km S. Continuing N past Yeghegnut, the road continues to
Debed (619 v., founded 1857, till 1935 Khachigegh), Chkalov (166 v., named
after the Soviet test pilot, till 1936 Saghibagdi) with 13-15th c. khachkars,
and Dsegh, where is joins another E-W road. Dsegh (1780 v.) was called
Tumanian from 1938-1969, after its famous son, the writer Hovhannes Tumanian
(1869-1923), and maintains the Tumanian house museum. In the village there is
a basilica of 654 housing an ethnographic museum, and nearby a 7th c. church
built by the Mamikonians, and Bardzrakashi S. Grigori Vank of 12-13th c. W of
the village is Karasun Mankots Vank of 12th c. In a field near Dsegh is the
“Sirun Khach” (“beautiful cross”) khachkar.
From the main road, a turnoff L leads to Vahagni (830 v.), with S. Sargis
church, Verin Vahagni church nearby. Thence one road leads W to Antaramut,
and another N to Dzoragyugh (305 v., formerly Darakend), with fort remains.
There it joins up with a road leading W past Hnevank to Kurtan and beyond (see
“Along the Dzoraget”, above). Just before Dzoraget (166 v., till 1978
Kolageran), another bridge crosses the Debed to Dsegh and Marts (383 v.),
which has a khachkar of 1285 above the village. 5 km SE of the village is
Igatak, with Igataki Vank of 1255 on the SW edge. A road angles back NW to
Karinj (484 v.) and then Tumanian. From Marts, a road follows the Marts
River about 12 km to Lorut (750 v., formerly Babajan), with Bronze Age
tumuli, two medieval bridges on the Lorut river, a small S. Sargis church, and
a medieval settlement with khachkars. Next village E is Shamut (233 v.),
which has a 17th c. church and 18th c. fort. Atan (226 v.) and Ahnidzor (222

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 68

v.) at the end of their respective stream valleys were founded in the mid 19th
c. by villagers who abandoned the monastic estates of Haghpat. Atan has a
church in the village and SW has ruined medieval secular buildings.
Just N of the modern industrial town of Tumanian (1389 v.), on the W side of
the main Alaverdi road, almost invisible in the trees, is the tiny hamlet of
Kober. About 80 m before the elevated little train station, a little paved
spur leads up beside the railroad tracks. Crossing them, a flight of steps
leads up and back, finally climbing up steeply up the side of the gorge. The
reward for the strenuous (and sometimes muddy) 10-minute scramble is one of
the most beautiful places in Armenia, Kober or Kobayr Monastery**. Perched on
a shelf of the gorge, in an ancient and sacred place where springs seep out of
the rock, trees and vines twine among the intricately carved blocks of the
monastery. The Katoghike church at the S end, partly fallen into the gorge,
was built in 1171 by two Kyurikian princesses (see Sanahin, below), but became
a property of the Georgian Orthodox Zakarian family soon after. Shahnshah
Zakarian is buried here. Most of the beautifully carved inscriptions are in
Georgian, as is the manner of the splendid (albeit restored) fresco decoration
in the churches. The bell-tower/mausoleum in the middle of the complex was
built in 1279 to house the tombs of Mkhargryel and his wife Vaneni. Note the
little sacred spring flowing within. On the ledge above is the refectory
building.
West of the Debed Gorge -- Odzun (Map J)
Just S of the built up area of Alaverdi, a paved road switchbacks up the gorge
wall to a sizable plateau. Going straight W, one reaches the village of Hagvi
(386 v.), with a ruined 12-13th c. church. The main fork S leads to Odzun
(3849 v.), with its famous church about 100 m W on the main paved village
road. Dated stylistically to the first half of the 7th c., according to
medieval historical tradition the church was built by Katholikos Yovhan of
Odzun (717-728), about whom Kirakos Gandzaketsi (tr. Bedrosian) offers the
following anecdote:
Lord Yovhannes was a learned and holy man, attractive physically and
even more so spiritually. [The Caliph] Hisham [724-43] summoned him to
court, and honored him greatly for the comeliness of his appearance. Now
[Yovhannes] had sprinkled gold dust in his beard [before] he went into
[the Caliph's presence]. Seeing Yovhannes, Hisham was amazed at his
handsomeness and mildly said to him: "They say about your Christ that he
was very meek and humble and greatly loved poverty, The Christian order
professes that those who are their leaders honor poverty and plainness
more than luxury and riches. Then why are you bedecked so"? The blessed
one replied: "You have nothing more than your servant except a crown and
royal dress, yet it is for these things that people fear and honor you.
Our first Fathers were miracle-workers and undertook wondrous
disciplines. For that reason, people who fell into their hands feared
them and obeyed their commands with trepidation. But we are not like
them; therefore we adorn ourselves in clothes and fashion, so that they
will not ignore our commands. Then, baring his breast, [Yovhannes)
showed [Hisham] a hairshirt which was worn underneath his clothing. And
he said: "This is my dress." The king marveled and praised the beliefs
of the Christians. He said to the blessed one: "Ask of me what you will
and I will grant it to you". The patriarch responded: "I ask of you
three things which are easy for you to grant. Do not force Christians to
abandon their faith, but leave each to his wishes. Second do not make
the liberty of the Church subject to you through taxation, take nothing
from the priests or deacons. Third, wherever there are Christians in
your realm, let them perform their rites fearlessly. Give this to us in
writing, and my entire people will serve you" At once [Hisham] ordered

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 69

that a document be written as requested, stamped it with his own ring,

and gave Yovhannes many gifts. He mustered many troops to accompany
him, and sent him to Armenia with great honor. When Yovhannes arrived he
persecuted all the Greeks in Armenia, both overseers and soldiers. The
Greeks fled so quickly that they did not have time to take their
treasures with them. So they buried them in the ground, wrote a
description of the hiding place, and took the information with them.

The blessed patriarch, placing our country under Ishmaelite rule, then
convened a meeting in Manazkert ... (to weed out the Chalcedonians) Thus
providing the land with all virtuousness, he occupied himself with
doctrine and prayers. [Yovhannes] also constructed a large church in his
village of Odzun (which is close to the city Lorhi) and he settled in a
spot he had chosen for his residence, a short distance from the village.
One day, when the blessed one was at prayer, two frightful dragons fell
upon the residence of this virtuous man. When lord Yovhannes' deacon saw
this, he was terrified, and clamored for the holy man's help. Lord
Yovhannes made the sign of the Cross before them and the two dragons
instantly turned into stone. They exist today. Water spurts from the
belly of the dragons, and it is an antidote for all snake-bitten folk
who turn to the saint with prayers. After being patriarch for eleven
years, and having lived a virtuous life, lord Yovhannes reposed in
Christ. (Note: Odz means "Serpent", and presumably the name of the
town the legend are connected.)
Beside the church is an unusual 7th c. funerary monument with two sculpted
pillars depicting biblical scenes and the Christianization of Armenia. On the
NE edge of town is a ruined 7th c. “Tsiranavor” basilica. South from Odzun is
Aygehat (201 v., renamed Danushavan from 1963 till 1992, in honor of its
native son, revolutionary and diplomat Danush Shahverdian, who served as
Armenian trade representative in Turkey from 1924-28, and then representative
to the Red Cross on refugee resettlement), from which a dirt road leads W to
Ardvi (177 v.). Above this village is a sacred spring with legendary dragon,
and beyond that a humble village monastery of S. Hovhannes, allegedly founded
by Yovhan of Odzun, with church of the 17th c.
Just beyond the Odzun turnoff, a track leads W to Kachachkut (320 v.,
formerly Sevdi), which has ruins of a 13-14th c. fortress and S. Nshan vank.
Further N, in Alaverdi near the Sanahin turnoff, another road winds back W up
to Akori (1649 v.), an estate belonging in the 19th c. to Count Loris-Melikov,
successful general and briefly Prime Minister to Czar Alexander, one of the
few Armenian members of the Russian nobility. In the gorge SE is S. Gevorg
church, and there is the so-called Bgavor shrine somewhere nearby.
Sanahin and Haghpat (Map J)
The city of Alaverdi (18395 v., “Allah gave” in Turkish) owes its existence
to the rich copper mines nearby. Systematic exploitation began around 1780,
with Greek miners brought in to supplement the conscripted labor of local
villagers. The mines benefited the Argutinskii-Dolgoruki noble family, which
claimed descent from the Zakarian princes. Members of this family, serving
the Czar as military officers or Armenian archbishops, were central to the
annexation of the Transcaucasus. At one point, Alaverdi was allegedly the
source of one quarter of the Russian Empire’s output of refined copper. In the
1880s, the concession was sold to a French company, but the skilled miners
remained primarily Greek. The collapse of the Soviet economy has contributed
substantially to cutting the once terrible pollution the works generated.
At the S end of town, a modern double bridge crosses the Debed river and winds
up to the E district of Sanahin, with the drafty, dilapidated but survivable

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 70

Debed Hotel on the main square. Beyond the hotel, the road goes straight and
then right to the important and richly decorated monastic complex of Sanahin*,
an important literary and educational center in medieval times. It was the
seat of an archbishop up into the 19th c. Queen Khosrovanush, wife of King
Ashot III Bagratuni, founded the monastery in 966, building an Amenaprkich
(All-Savior) church beside a pre-existing 10th c. S. Astvatsatsin church
(left/N). The Kyurikian family, a junior branch of the Ani-based Bagratunis,
ruled the Tashir-Dzoraget region from their stronghold at Lori Berd quasi-
independently from the 10th c. till 1113, when the breakdown of their
relationship with the invading Seljuk Turks forced them to move E into Tavush.
Between the two churches is a gallery, the so-called Academy of Grigor
Magistros, considered to have been the school. You will be shown a place where
the famous 18th c. multilingual Caucasian bard Sayat Nova is supposed to have
sat. The gavit of S. Astvatsatsin was built by Prince Vache Vachutian (a more
southerly dynast) in 1211, that of Amenaprkich in 1181 under the sponsorship
of the Kyurikian family. The bell tower, built between 1211 and the Mongol
invasion of 1236, is thought to be the earliest in Armenia. On the outside E
wall of the Amenaprkich is a dedicatory relief showing Princes Gurgen, first
of the Kyurikians, and his brother Smbat Bagratuni, the sons of the founder,
presenting a model of the church. N and E of S. Astvatsatsin is the relic
depository or library, built in 1063 by Queen Hranush. Adjacent is a S.
Grigor chapel. The cemetery beyond is full of notable graves, including a
funerary chapel of the Zakarian family and tombs of some of the 19th c
Argutinsky (Arghutian) princes, their descendants. The great
Georgian/Armenian amirspasalar Zakare (d. 1212) was buried in the main church,
according to Kirakos Gandzaketsi (tr. R. Bedrosian):
After many feats of bravery and triumphs accomplished by the great
princes Zak'are and Ivane, they went to the city of Marand, took it, and
destroyed the districts around it. Then they went on to Ardabil
(Artawil) and similarly took it. Many of the inhabitants together with
their prayer-callers (who are called mughri) took refuge in their prayer
houses. Zakare ordered that grass and stalks be brought. He had oil and
naphtha poured on this kindling until [the mosques] were blazing with
flames; and he burned [the Muslims] to death saying: "Here are princes
and laymen in return for the Armenian princes whom the Tachiks immolated
in the churches of Naxchawan, Koran-readers (kurhayk'n) in return for
the priests of Baguan who were slaughtered and whose blood was
splattered on the gates of the church--a place which is darkened to this
day". And Zakare went to his own land. On the way he became ill, for
incurable sores appeared on his limbs. As soon as one would heal,
another would flare up. He died after a few days of such torments. All
the Christians mourned. They took his body and buried it at Sanahin, in
the great church beneath the altar on the right side. Great mourning was
undertaken by the king of Georgia.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 71

Sanahin was the birthplace of Artashes Mikoyants, better known to history as

Anastas Mikoyan (1895-1978). His father was a capable but illiterate carpenter
at the mines. According to Mikoyan’s memoirs, the village of Sanahin had only
two literate men, the priest and the (sole) monk of Sanahin monastery. The
village itself was impoverished, a holding of the Argutinskii family. Mikoyan
was educated at the seminary in Tbilisi at the behest of the visiting Armenian
bishop, joined up with Stepan Shahumian, whom he deeply admired, and was the
sole survivor of the Baku Commissars, his name somehow left off the list of
those to be executed. Uniquely among Bolsheviks of his generation, Anastas
survived every purge and change of leadership to become Chairman of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, perhaps the most successful Armenian ever to
settle in Soviet Moscow. His brother Artyom (1905-1970) was the famous
aeronautical engineer, co-designer of the MIG fighter series. A third brother
was killed in WWII. The house-museum of the Mikoyan brothers is downhill from
the monastery.
Beyond Sanahin, the road continues N to Akner, from which you may be able to
reach Kayan Berd, a brooding black fortress built in 1233. Kirakos Gandzaketsi
(tr. R. Bedrosian) reports that "Yovhannes, the sister's son of princes
Zak'are and Ivane, and the previous Yovhannes' brother's son [was bishop of
Haghpat]. This Yovhannes built a fortress with sturdy walls between Haghpat
and Sanahin. On account of this fortress, discord arose between the two great
monasteries, to the effect that it was on land belonging to Sanahin. Prince
Shahnshah, Zakare's son avenged Sanahin, since his father was buried there and
he considered it their property, for Haghpat was under the Georgian kings'
control at that time. As soon as bishop Yovhannes died, they pulled down the
walls of the fortress on orders from the Tatars." The fortress, which sits on
a pinnacle above the Debed between Sanahin and Haghpat, preserves the small
Dsevanki S. Astvatsatsin church. In the village is an Early Iron Age tomb
field. Note that there is another Kayan Berd W of Ijevan in Tavush.
Retracing steps across the Debed river, take the main road N, passing the
Sanahin bridge, built in 1192. The bridge is elegantly decorated with stone
cats. About one km after crossing back to the E side of the Debed on leaving
Alaverdi, a cluster of large modern buildings, the transport terminal (?),
marks the turn-off right to Haghpat and Tsaghkashat (149 v., till 1935

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 72

Khachidur). Take the left fork which winds up to Haghpat (448 v.), with one
of Armenia’s most beautiful monasteries** perched atop the rim of the gorge.
This fortified monastery was founded, like Sanahin, by Queen Khosrovanush
around 976. It has a S. Nshan church finished in 991 by Smbat Bagratuni and
his brother Gurgen, and served as the religious headquarters of the
Kyurikians. The gavit was built in 1185, with the following inscription on
the N facade: “In the year 634/AD 1185, I Mariam, daughter of King Kyurike,
built with great hope this house of prayer over our tombs -- those of my
paternal aunt Rousoudan, my mother Tamara, and myself, Mariam, under the
superior Ter Barsegh, archbishop, who finished the construction. You who
enter through its door and prostrate yourself before the cross, in your
prayers remember us and our royal ancestors, who rest at the door of the holy
cathedral, in Jesus Christ.” A smaller S. Grigor church was built in 1025 and
rebuilt in 1211. There is a huge, self-standing gavit of the Abbot Hamazasp
built in 1257, a “grand and marvelous bell tower” of 1245, and a library built
in 1262. There is a large dining hall incorporated in the defensive wall, and
several other picturesque chapels and mausoleums. Haghpat was a major literary
center in the Middle Ages. It controlled the income and inhabitants of
numerous villages and lands, gradually usurped by the Russian state and
influential Armenian bureaucrat/princes during the course of the 19th c.

In the late 18th century, the Archbishop of Haghpat claimed responsibility for
the clergy and church revenues of all the Armenians of Georgia. This Armenian
community grew rapidly with the Russian expansion into the Caucasus,
particularly refugees who followed the Russians in retreat from Karabakh in
and Yerevan in 1804. The Russian governor Tsitsianov, an imperious and

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 73

somewhat anti-Armenian Georgian prince, unilaterally transferred this

authority in 1805 to the Armenian archbishop in Tbilisi, a pro-Russian
ecclesiastic it was easier to keep an eye on. The Archbishop of Haghpat,
Sargis Hasan-Jalalean, scion of an ancient family of meliks of Karabakh and
brother of the late Katholikos of Aghvank, protested in vain, noting that his
brother had been killed and he himself imprisoned by the Khan of Karabakh as a
result of their friendly correspondence with the Russians. Archbishop Sargis
eventually moved back to Karabakh to become in 1810 the last Katholikos of
Aghvank. This Katholikosate, founded (Armenians say) by the grandson of S.
Gregory the Illuminator, controlled the religious affairs of the Caucasian
Albanians, the pre-Turkic population of what is now Azerbaijan. During the
Middle Ages its geographic basis shrank and it became culturally assimilated
to the Armenian church. In the 18th century it was a near-exclusive family
holding of the Hasan-Jalalean family, operating out of the monasteries of
Gandzasar and Amaras in Karabakh. The Russian Empire abolished the
Katholikosate of Aghvank in 1815.
Neghuts (199 v., formerly Gomahand) has khachkars and, in the cemetery, 3rd-
2nd millennium BC cliff carvings. Crossing the Debed on an unsignposted bridge
to an industrial appendage of Akht'ala, heading N, then bearing W, you reach
the 13th c. monastery* at Akht'ala (2002 v.), with three churches, the largest
to the Mother of God, inside a 10th c fortress. The monastery is thought to
be the one attested by medieval writers as Pghndzahank ("Copper mine"), but
see Hnevank above. In 1763, King Herakli II of Georgia brought Greek miners to
work the ore deposits nearby, and their inscriptions can be found on the
monastery walls.. The village has a 13th c. spring monument. By the village
was a large Early Iron Age cemetery. Upper Akht'ala has a Greek church. A
road W from Akht'ala leads to the copper mining town of Shamlugh, (659 v.)
whose deposits have been worked since ancient times (Late Bronze/Iron Age
cemetery, one 13th c. cross monument). From Akht'ala, another road runs N on
the W side of the Debed to reach Mets Ayrum (611 v.), with a Nahatak (martyr)
shrine of 1612 4-5 km NW. Chochkan (1421 v.), the next town NE, was an
estate of the Russian-Armenian princely Loris-Melikov family, and has a church
built by the Count’s mother. There is a Shportavank of the 17th c. W of the
village is a cliff called Timurlenk’s stone. Last village before entering
Tavush and Georgia is Karkop (242 v., founded 1936).
Back on the E bank of the Debed, Shnogh (2261 v.) has on its territory
various traces of metal-working sites from ancient times. In the village is
an ethnographic museum. On a triangular promontory above the Debed is Kaytson
Castle, probably founded in the 9th c on the remains of a cyclopean fort.
There is a ruined single-aisle church, S. Gevorg church of 1893, the Terunakan
shrine of 1222 E of the fort. From Shnogh, a road goes 4 km S to Teghut (501
v.) and its 13th c. Manastefi hermitage, 10-17th c. churches, and a 13-14th c.
Vardan Zoravar monument.
Tucked into an inaccessible corner of N Armenia, reachable (the map says) only
from the Georgian town of Opreti, the village of Jiliza (182 v.) has on its
territory a 13th c. ruined fort and shrine and, in deep forest at 1300 m
elevation somewhere on the W slopes of Mt. Lalvar, the architecturally unique
Khorakert monastery*. The 11th or 12th c. domed church has a 12-faceted,
columnar drum. The gavit was built in 1252 in the days of King David of
Georgia by Hovhannes Varnetsi’s son Stepanos. There is a ruined fortification
wall, dining hall and, south of two little shrines, remains of a covered
passage leading into the gorge. The monastery was restored in 1661 and 1710,
but was already in ruins at the beginning of this century.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 74

West from Spitak (Map I)

A major E-W road and rail route, mostly in good shape, leads from Spitak to
Gyumri, following the Pambak river. North of the road are Shenavan (300 v.,
till 1946 Kiziloran, Azeris), with a cave and a ruined 6-7th c. single-aisle
basilica nearby; Sarahart (854 v., till 1950 Gyullija), with two churches,
and ruined hamlets 6 km N.; and Gogaran (706 v., till 1946 Gyogarchin), with
a 17th c. church, and the Sangyot fort nearby. Before Geghasar (561 v., till
1978 Tapanli), you pass early cave dwellings near the road. There is a 19th c.
S. Sargis church in the village. Astvatsatsin shrine is 2 km distant. On
August 25, 1807, Karapapakh nomads who used to live there descended on the
Armenian settlers and decapitated several, according to a report to General
Gudovich. Shirakamut (1631 v., Nalband till 1978) was the epicenter of the
1988 earthquake, with 313 killed. The 7th c. Chichkhanavank N of the village
is now a pile of stones. Some 3rd millennium BC graves have been explored
nearby. Other villages, from East to West, are: Katnajur (988 v., till 1946
Gharal); Mets Parni (1381 v., in 1807 site of a Russian military post called
Bekant, then Beykend, then Parni Gegh), with a 19th c. S. Sargis church;
Tsaghkaber (769 v., till 1939 Avdibek); Saralanj (125 v., till 1946
Gyogoghush); Hartagyugh (727 v., till 1946 Ghaltakhji) with a 19th c. church
and, 1 km S, a S. Hovhannes shrine and pilgrimage site; Lusaghbyur (658 v.,
till 1946 Aghbulagh, ruined church); and Khnkoyan (221 v., till 1946
Gharaboya), birthplace of children’s writer Khnko Aper, site of his house
museum. The road then crosses the watershed into Shirak Marz.
The Zakarian Lords Zakare and Ivane
A huge number of Armenia's monasteries were built or rebuilt under the
auspices of two brothers, the generals and protectors of Queen Tamar of
Georgia, Zakare the Amirspasalar (roughly "commander in chief" in
Arabic/Persian) and Ivane the Atabeg ("prince's tutor" in Turkish). The
origin of the family are obscure -- Kurds by one medieval account, mid-
level Armenian lords by another -- but their successful generalship was
indisputable. In a series of campaigns from the 1190s to 1220s, they freed
Georgia and most of historical Armenia from the Seljuk Turks and
reestablished Christian control of the region. Zakare was Armenian
Gregorian by religion, his brother Ivane Georgian Orthodox. They were
pious, and made sure to record their numerous benefactions in inscriptions
on stone.

The almost permanently victorious Ivane was ultimately defeated near Garni
by Jalal ad Din Mingburnu, the last Khwarezm-Shah, in 1224 (allegedly the
Lord of Battles caused his troops to hear the order "Flee!" instead of
"Attack!) and died shortly afterwards. The Khwarezm-Shah was himself on the
run from forces beyond his control. When the Mongols arrived in 1236, both
Zakare's son and heir Shahnshah ("King of Kings" in Persian, a lovely
example of the common Armenian use of titles as personal names) and Ivane's
son Avag ("Senior") reached fragile and unsatisfactory accommodations with
the new world rulers, but they and their descendants held on to substantial
fiefdoms until the onslaught of Timur and his hordes.

EXPLORING SHIRAK
Shirak Marz, the Northwest corner of Armenia, is defined by the upper flow
of the Akhurian river, the NW corner of Mt. Aragats, the Georgian border,
and a series of mountains dominated by the 3000 m Mt. Urasar in the East.
In spring the rolling treeless hills and rocky outcrops are quietly
beautiful. The capital city of Gyumri/Leninakan, since the 1988 the focus

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 75

of international humanitarian assistance, remains depressingly unrebuilt,

but is rich in archaeological interest for the specialist. There are many
architecturally important churches, such as in Artik, Ani-Pemza, Maralik,
and Harich. Marmashen, NW of Gyumri, is a particularly interesting
monastic complex. The Urartian citadel at Horom is perhaps the most
impressive of its kind in Armenia. The hilly grasslands of the northern
part of the marz, once dotted with Azeri villages, have their own bleak
charm, and important migratory bird life around the Arpi Reservoir.
Shirak was incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1804, before the rest of
Armenia. Alexandropol/Gyumri was a strategically vital garrison town and
rail depot in the Czar’s frequent wars against Turkey. The closure of the
Turkish border, the terrible condition of the road across the Georgian
border, and in particular the earthquake which leveled much of the region,
have depressed the region economically and contributed to a major exodus to
Yerevan, Moscow, and Glendale.
North to Gyumri -- Horom (Map B)
Taking the main highway from Ashtarak to Gyumri, you enter Shirak Marz on a
ridge between Mastara and Lanjik (600 v., till 1947 Muslughlu). Just SW of
the village is an Early Bronze Age cyclopean fort/cemetery. A road leads W
to Dzithankov (782 v., till 1966 Bagirhana, 19th c. church) and Karaberd
(650 v., founded 1829, church, fortress nearby). Shortly before Dzorakap
(765 v., till 1935 Boghazkyasan, S. Astvatsatsin church of 1783), a side
road angles back SE toward Sarnaghbyur. About 1 km on the right is the
Hogevank monastery complex, primarily of the 13th c. Beyond a dam and
reservoir rises the village of Sarnaghbyur* (1858 v., “Cold Spring”, till
1940 Sogutlu or Ghzlkilisa). This venerable village derives its name and
antiquity from a cave at the back of the village from which flows an ample
spring believed to have mystical healing powers. Now walled up (key in
house on right), the cave houses a shrine of Gregory the Illuminator. The
cave is reached by proceeding through the village (note ornate carved
fireplace in ruined house on left) to the substantial S. Tadevos church of
1883, before which one turns left, then the first paved right turn. There
is reportedly also a ruined 5-6th c. church of S. Hakob and a S. Karapet
church of 1205. On a hill 6 km E is S. Ghazar ruined church of the 5-6th c.
The E side of Maralik has caves, 11-12th c. khachkars, and a church of 1903.
Continuing N, the villages of Haykasar (121 v., till 1947 Sivribash),
Hayrenyats (373 v., till 1946 Sangyarlu), with 5th c. Karmir Vank church,
and Tuffshen (“tuff-built”, 295 v., with 13th c. Tukh Manuk shrine, traces
of a cyclopean fort, ruined arch of 6th c.) are E of the road. An unmarked
intersection leads W to Gusanagyugh (690 v., till 1977 Ghapulu), named
after the famous bard (“Gusan”) Nakhshikar Sargis born here. There is a
ruined church of 11th c. in the village and one remaining wall of a medieval
castle. W of the village are two Urartian cyclopean forts, at Ghak? and
Shvaghtapa. Taking the opposite road E, about 1 km E of the village of
Horom (1333 v., S. Hripsime church of 1861) is a dam and reservoir. S of
the road, opposite the dam, rise two substantial hills wreathed with
impressive Bronze Age through Urartian citadel** walls. Armenian and
American archaeologists led by Ruben Badalian and Philip Kohl began
excavations there recently, and have found well-preserved walls and a great
depth of cultural materials. This is one of the most impressive
archaeological sites in Armenia, particularly in the spring when the
massive volcanic stones of the fortress are set off by brilliant green
grass. Potsherds and obsidian flakes are strewn everywhere.
The road then passes Saratak (766 v., till 1940 Emirkhan, Hellenistic
settlement and graveyard), with Lusakert (478 v., 2nd mill BC tombs, 18th c.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 76

Astvatsatsin church), Hovtashen (221 v., founded 1830 from Kars, just E),
and Beniamin (387 v., till 1945 Jlovkhan, renamed in honor of home-town
WWII hero, General-Major Beniamin Galstian). On hills near Beniamin, an
80-hectare 8th c. BC through 4th c. AC settlement site was found and
excavated in 1989-94, including a 3-2nd c. BC palace, with 5-4th c. BC
structures underneath. The excavator believes that this was the seat of
the Kamsarakan noble family, which led an insurrection against Arshak II in
the mid-4th c. and was almost exterminated in revenge. Azatan (3087 v.,
till 1945 Gharakilisa) has a Catholic church of 1890 and Armenian Apostolic
church of 1860; it was site of an 1826 battle between Russian and Persian
troops. East of Azatan are Arevik (1148 v., 19th c. church) and Aygabats
(465 v., till 1946 Ilkhiabi). E of the Gyumri road outside Azatan are a
cluster of megaliths. On the Ghej hill near Azatan is a 6th c. BC - 1st c.
AC settlement.
The town of Gyumri* (officially 120641 v., briefly Kumayri, before than
Leninakan, before that Alexandropol) is conspicuous for the large
cemeteries, some full of the victims of the 1988 earthquake. Despite many
well-intentioned efforts, the economy of the city remains a shambles ten
years after the event, with thousands of people still living in “domiks,”
converted cargo containers, while newly rebuilt apartments stand empty.
There is still a substantial international presence from various assistance
projects. In 1926, League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Fridtjof Nansen, accompanied by his secretary, fellow Norwegian Vidkun
Quisling of later dark repute, visited Gyumri and its huge complex of
schools and orphanages sheltering 11,000 Armenian orphans under the
auspices of the American Near East Relief.
The main square has a pair of churches, one standing, one a distinguished
ruin awaiting reconstruction. There is a reputable European-style hotel, a
well-reputed regional museum plus a city museum, the Russian Alexandropol
fortress of 1834 on the W side of town, and probably more for the curious
urban explorer, though Gyumri was battered in 1926 by a previous earthquake
as well. Inside the city limits are several important archaeological
sites. By the fortress is the Sev Ghul Chalcolithic through Iron Age
settlement. Near the meat factory (by the train tracks) was excavated an
Early Iron Age settlement/cemetery. Near the stadium, another Iron Age
site had stone molds and a smelter for metal casting. In the NE part of
Gyumri, on a hill in the area known as Vardbach, excavations revealed a
Roman-period cemetery lying over a Bronze Age settlement. There is a
medieval settlement with ruined 7th c. church that has been excavated in the
Botanical Gardens. The city was site of a major Russian Army garrison and
fortress since its conquest in 1804, a role it continues to play even
today. The few thousand Russian troops still based in Armenia serve as a
reminder that Russia would intervene militarily were Turkey to invade
Armenia. Pending the unlikely event of an invasion, the Russian troops
grow potatoes and find other ways to stay alive.
East from Maralik -- Artik, Harich (Map B)
Opposite a huge cotton spinning factory on the edge of Maralik, a decent
paved road departs the main Gyumri highway W, bound for Artik. On the W
approaches of Pemzashen (1922 v., “Pumice built”) is the 11th c. Arakelots
Vank (dirt road to right). Note at the road’s closest approach to the
church an interesting massive carved tomb shrine. Back on the main road,
turning right and right again into the village, there is a decorated 7th c.
ruined church* built abutting the foundations of a 5th c. basilica.
Continuing past this church up the hill in the direction of Lernakert, you
pass Makaravank*, dating to the 10-13th c, with S. Sion church of 1001. In
the gorge below the monastery, reached by a steep, rock-cut path is an 18th

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 77

c. small church built on earlier foundations, and a hermit’s cell (?) cut
in the cliff.
The village of Lernakert (807 v.) is remarkable for its traditional stone
houses, mostly now in disrepair. Bearing left at the little square and
climbing, one eventually reaches a simple 5th c. basilica* church with
immensely thick walls, now used for storing hay and dried dung. There is a
Poghos-Petros Khachkar shrine, and two cyclopean forts S of the village.
Coming into Artik (14240 v.) on the road from Maralik/Pemzashen, turn left
at the entrance of town, then right on the flyover across the railroad
tracks. At the town square (WWII monument), continue straight up
Tonakanian St. to where the two adjacent early churches appear on the left:
Marine or Astvatsatsin Church, 5th c.; S. Gevorg church, 7th c.. Both are
ruined, with restoration interrupted by the collapse of the USSR. There is
also an 18th c. church in a cave in a gorge 1 km SE in direction of Harich.
Catacomb type tombs of the 14th-9th c.BC have been excavated near Artik as
well. The well-preserved Lmbatavank church of the 7th c. stands on a
hillside just SW of Artik (S. Stepanos church, important wall paintings).
Some interesting 18-19th c. houses also survive in Artik.
Driving E from Artik along the main road toward the village of Harich (673
v.), Harichavank* is reached by turning right before the prison. The main
church has on the N wall the following inscription: “By the grace and
mercy of mankind-loving God, I Zakare Mandatorta Amirspasalar of the
Armenians and Georgians, son of the great Sargis, made this donation to the
famous holy monastery of Haricha, for the benefit of its natural tenants,
for the long life of my master the pious Queen Tamar and for my safety and
that of my brother Ivane and our children Shahnshah and Avag, and my
parents. I built here a castle and cathedral at great expense and
decorated it with plate and sacred objects of every kind. And my village
Mokoris, which was near the holy monastery, I offered to the Holy Virgin,
with all its lands and mountains and waters. And I gave a mill called
Divaghats at Getik, a mill at Glidzor of Ani, and a garden at Tsaghkadzor,
a garden at Yerevan and a garden at Talin, and I established the rule that
the mass at the main altar always be celebrated in my name. Written in the
year 750/AD1201.” The brothers Zakare and Ivane are figured on the E
facade of the church. The St. Gregory church abutting at an angle the
gavit of the main church was built perhaps as early as the 7th c. over a
rock-cut tomb (?) and may have been originally a martyr’s shrine. The site
became in 1850 the summer residence of the Katholikos, with substantial 19th
c. monastic architecture. One of the modern buildings houses a small
museum. Across the gorge from the monastery is a 3rd millennium BC fortress
and tomb field.
North of Artik are Nor Kyank (981 v., till 1940 Mejitli, with ruined 6-7th
c. Grigor Lusavorich church) and Anushavan (1296 v., till 1969 Bekyand or
Parni Sultan, with S. Gevorg church; named after Dr. Anushavan Galoyan,
dead WWII hero). In 1988, a hill-top fortress was excavated near
Anushavan, dating from the 2nd c. BC to the 2nd c. AC. West of Harich is
Saralanj (653 v.), with a 5th c. ruined basilica. To the S, Nahapetavan
(508 v., till 1935 Khachakilisa, till 1961 Paros, renamed in honor of its
local hero, Nahapet Kurghinian, a participant in the May 1920 Bolshevik
uprising) has a 6th c. S. Gevorg church. Mets Mantash (1378 v, till 1935
Mets Arkhvali, an old settlement with traces of early churches, and center
for propagation of the medieval Tondrakian heresy). Pokr Mantash (1386 v.,
church of 1864) From Mets Mantash, a road leads WNW to Arevshat (1104 v.,
till 1948 Yekanlar). The 14-15th c. church, rebuilt in 1873, had in earlier
times a fortress nearby. Spandarian (882 v., till 1946 Gyullija, renamed
for the Armenian revolutionary) has a ruined church, an Iron Age fort and,

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 78

on a nearby cliff, an Urartian cuneiform inscription of King Argishti I. N

of Spandarian is Geghanist (708 v., till 1948 Chanki Tapa or Ghovlughat,
church of 1852). W of Spandarian are Getapi (486 v., till 1940 Ghasm-Ali),
Panik (731 v., till 1924 Kyavtarlu, named in honored of Bolshevik agitator
A. Panian) with a 19th c. church; Vardakar (316 v., till 1946 Tomartash,
Bronze Age and medieval ruins, including khachkar shrine, nearby) and
Meghrashen (798 v., till 1946 Ghazanchi), with church and khachkars.
Up the Akhuryan -- Yereruyk, Ani Overlook (Map B)
Approaching Shirak via the border highway from Armavir, you enter the Marz
just after the village of Tlik. A faded metal pillar commemorating a now-
forgotten Party Congress marks the turnoff for the village of Ani-Pemza
(312 v., till 1938 Kzkule) on the Akhurian river gorge. The village gets
its name from the pumice mines nearby, which bury the town in fine dust.
Approaching the village, you see on the right the imposing remains of the
Yereruyk basilica* of the 5th c.; there is an early Iron Age cemetery in the
valley just N of the basilica. Back on the main road, turn left on a
narrow paved road just after the little village of Ani kayaran (Ani
Station, 294 v.). The road winds to a military checkpoint manned by
Russian border guards, half of them Armenians under contract. With prior
permission from the Foreign Ministry, or a pleasant smile and good story or
(supposedly pending) a policy change on access to the closed zone, you may
be allowed to drive to an overlook point W of the settlement of Kharkov,
from which the churches and palaces of the medieval Armenian capital city
of Ani** are laid out on a promontory a few hundred meters and many
centuries away across the Akhurian river gorge in Turkey. The sight is
unforgettable, particularly in late afternoon.
Saved from stone-robbers by its remoteness, Ani preserves the finest
assemblage of Armenian architectural remains in the world. A stronghold of
the Kamsarakan family from the 4th century, Ani rose to prominence around
953, when the Bagratid King Ashot the Merciful, having failed to dislodge
the Muslim emirs from their capital at Dvin, made the defensible and scenic
town of Ani his seat. Trade flourished. Katholikos Sargis moved his own
seat here in 992, amid an ambitious building program of churches and
palaces. Alas, the period of prosperity was brief. Squeezed between the
Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks, the Bagratids lost Ani to the
Emperor Constantine Monomachus in 1046. Then in 1064 Ani was captured and
plundered by the Seljuk Sultan Alp-Arslan. In 1074, he sold the town to
the Shaddadid emir Manuche, scion of a successful clan of Kurdish
adventurers. Three generations of Shaddadids tolerated and taxed a
prosperous Armenian population, but they were in 1199 driven out along with
the Seljuks by the Georgian/Armenian brothers Ivane and Zakare. This new
Christian ascendancy and wave of building was cut short by a Mongol
invasion in 1239. Life continued under the Mongols and their successors,
the town growing gradually poorer but with its churches still maintained.
Tamerlane's invasions in 1400-1403, and the shift of the trade routes,
brought Ani to desolation.
Bagravan (511 v.) is named for an ancient Armenian religious site on the
far side of the river near Yervandashat. A road leads NW from Bagravan
Station to Haykadzor (292 v. till 1950 Ghzlkilisa, “Red Church,” named for
Horomos Vank across the Akhurian river), which preserves in the village S.
Grigor Lusavorich church of 985, restored in 13th c. Jrapi (588 v.) is
near the Akhurian reservoir built jointly with Turkey in late Soviet times.
The water is split 50-50. Building of the dam meant the removal of Upper
and Lower Jrapi, till 1947 Chirpli and Keghach. A ruined medieval bridge on
the Akhurian is now under water, but an 11th c. caravansaray was rebuilt by
new Jrapi. There is a church of 1874 and, 1 km S of Jrapi, a 1st millennium

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 79

BC graveyard. E of the road is Sarakap (388 v., till 1935 Bozdoghan),

which has a 6-7th c. S. Astvatsatsin church, rebuilt in 1885. 6 km SE is a
ruined 7th c. church called Karmir Vank or Ghr'ichi Vank. Aghin (387 v.)
has a S. Hakob church of 1878.
Several km E is Bardzrashen (till 1947 Baburlu), with a 7th c. S.
Astvatsatsin church and, nearby, a Poghos-Petros hermitage. Beyond the
Bardzrashen turnoff is the new village of Isahakyan (652 v., till 1945
Ghazarabad -- Ghazar Aga led the village in a successful defense against
the Persians in 1826-28; earlier name was Kharum), then Lusaghbyur (365 v.,
till 1945 Sufanverdi). Shirakavan (539 v., till 1950 Davshanlan) is the
new town built to replace the old, flooded by the reservoir. South is the
site of Sevakn on the confluence of the Akhurian river and Sevakn creek.
The site was excavated in 1977, and revealed a substantial cult site of the
2nd c BC to 3rd c. AC, showing cultural links with both Rome and Persia.
The site is now partly flooded by the reservoir, as is a Stone Age site
with mammoth bones, but a cyclopean fort remains on a hill above. There is
or was a large church nearby. However, the original site of the medieval
city of Shirakavan or Yerazgavors, famous as the seat of the Bagratuni
family in the 9th c. before they moved to Ani around 961, was on the far
side of the Akhurian river at Bash-Shoragyal. Bayandur (475 v., the
original site, ruined in the 1926 earthquake, had Armenian and Greek
churches); Erazgavors (945 v., “Deer Hunter”, till 1945 Aralikh, then
resuming the other medieval name of the Bagratid capital Shirakavan) has
sparse medieval remains, including of two fortresses, one in the village
and one W on the stream bank, and a 9th c. church. Getk (353 v., till 1945
Daharlu) had two churches destroyed in the 1926 earthquake. Gharibjanian
(479 v., Gharakilisa, then Alexandrovka, renamed in 1935 in honor of Bagrat
Gharibjanian, 1890-1920, a Bolshevik revolutionary imprisoned by the
Dashnaks after the failed May uprising and later shot in reprisal for the
execution of two Dashnaks -- his house museum is in Gyumri) has a ruined
modern church. Between Gharibjanian and Akhurik, the Akhurik railroad
station has a special facility, completed just before the collapse of the
USSR and never used, for lifting train cars off their wheels and changing
the undercarriage from Soviet to European gauge, to allow trains on the
Gyumri-Kars rail line to make the transition between two incompatible rail
systems.
Gyumri East toward Spitak (Map M)
The main West-East road to Spitak, once and potentially in the future an
important transportation route from Kars to Tbilisi or Baku, leaves Gyumri
to the NE, passing first through the village of Shirak (582 v., till 1940
Ghonaghkran, this earlier name in popular etymology meaning “guest-killer,”
after a legendary incident when the locals, warned of their guests’ evil
intentions, massacred a group of Persian soldiers quartered in their
houses). There is a S. Hakob church and S. Minas shrine. Jajur (501 v.)
has the house-museum of the painter Minas Avetisian (1928-1975).
Paleolithic tools have been found on the territory. The road continues over
the Jajur Pass (1952 m) to Lori Marz. North of Jajur is what looks to be
interesting country: Lernut (148 v., new church W, medieval remains 1 km
W); Jajur kayaran (RR station, 205 v.); Krashen (187 v., till 1945
Aghkilisa) has a church of 1859; Mets Sariar (255 v.) has a 19th c. S. Nshan
church which used to house several early manuscripts. From Mets Sariar,
the map shows a bad road winding NE through difficult terrain to Pokr
Sariar (157 v., 19th c. church) on the Chichkan river; thence Kakavasar (93
v., till 1978 Kefli) with ruined Karmravor church of the 7th c. just W, and
remains of cyclopean fort; then Sarapat (95 v., till 1946 Samrlu), and
Dzorashen (162 v.), which has a rebuilt church of 1863 and ruined S.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 80

Stepanos monastery of 12-13th c., and remnants of a 10th c. AC fortress.

The road then connects to Saralanj, in Lori Marz.
The road leaving Gyumri heading East passes through Akhurian (6668 v. till
1945 Duzkent, capital of the former Akhurian rayon) and Karnut (549 v.,
till 1946 Diraklar), this latter with Early Bronze Age ruins on a hill
nearby and, to the NE, a ruined church probably built on the site of a
pagan temple in the 4-5th c and rebuilt in the 10th. About 1 km N are
remains of a 8-7th c. BC dam. The road N from Karnut leads to Kamo (815 v.,
till 1935 Haji Nazar, Astvatsatsin church of 1878, named for a romantic but
somewhat unsavory revolutionary bank robber). Two km NW is Chataljur
medieval settlement and Khacher Hellenistic site.
Near the reservoir S of Karnut are Hovit (335 v., with khachkars 2 km E)
and Musayelian, (1084 v., till 1935 Mets Kyapanak, renamed in honor of
Sargis G. Musayelian, a captain who committed his troops and armored train
to the May 1920 Bolshevik uprising against the Dashnak government in
Alexandropol/Gyumri. Sentenced to death when the May uprising collapsed,
Musayelian was reprieved, but then shot by vengeful Dashnaks after the
torture and execution of two Dashnak leaders by the Red Army in Zangezur);
church rebuilt 1842. Beyond Musayelian, the road looks as if it peters out
at Jrarat (732 v., till 1945 Chirakhlu). There is a small ruined 6th c.
church of S. Minas, and remains of a cyclopean fort.
West of the Akhurian River (Map M)
A turn W in Gharibjanian leads to the village of Akhurik (798 v., till 1935
Gharakilisa Turki). From there, a muddy track leads to the border fence
and what was once a road crossing point into Turkey, now closed. Northeast
from Akhurik is Arapi (1202 v., till 1946 Ojakhghuli), which has on its N
side a spot sacred to the Virgin Mary. SW is a site with cyclopean remains
and mammoth bones. There is a Hellenistic cemetery 1 km S. The road N
from Akhurik goes to Voskehask (1664 v., till 1947 Musakan, cyclopean fort
1 km NE), Haykavan (830 v., formerly Bajoghlu), then Voghji (313 v., till
1991 the Azeri village of Oghjoghli), Meghrashat (268 v., till 1946
Gharamahmet, church of 1868), Gyulibulagh (500 v., ruined church 1 km S of
village), Kamkhut (formerly Chakhmakh, 7th c. church in village), Gtashen
(215 v., formerly Magharajugh), and Aregnadem (162 v., formerly Azizbekov,
till 1939 Gharachanta), joining up with the road to Arpi Reservoir in the
far NW corner of Armenia.
The Northwest Corner -- Marmashen Vank (Map M)
Leaving Gyumri on the main N road, turn left at a restaurant just past a
set of post-earthquake international housing projects. A bad paved road
passes the village of Marmashen (1212 v., until 1946 Verin Ghanlija). At
the far end of Vahramaberd (696 v., 12-13th c. church in village), the next
village, turn left, then follow the dirt road back along the gorge and then
descend (right fork) to Marmashen Vank**. This impressive monastic complex
sits on a picturesque shelf with fruit trees above the Akhurian River,
beside a stream that ends in a waterfall. The Katoghike church of S.
Stepanos was built by Vahram Pahlavuni, whose gravestone sits in the ruined
gavit, between 988 and 1029. The gavit itself is 13th c. There is an
Astvatsatsin church, and a S. Petros, and archaeologists found remnants of
a fourth, nearly circular church, along with foundations of a pre-Christian
temple and many service buildings. The complex was ruined by the Seljuks,
and rebuilt by Vahram’s grandsons. On the hill N is a cemetery with a
ruined chapel. There is a bridge probably of the 10-11th c. on the Akhurian
nearby. Across the river, near an abandoned medieval settlement, are
Bronze Age graves.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 81

Retracing steps up to the rim of the gorge and continuing S on the dirt
road skirting the gorge, one sees a basalt knob and scarp WNW of Marmashen
village. Descending a few feet into the gorge, one finds about 40 meters
NW of the power lines a perfectly preserved Urartian inscription of
Argishti I (730-714 BC) carved into the basalt. Above it are sparse ruins
of an Urartian stronghold. The main road continues N (in doubt take the
right fork) to Kaps (405 v.) and then crosses the Akhurian to reach another
road N, with Jradzor (201 v., rebuilt 19th c. church) on the right hand.
1.5 km SE is a cyclopean fort. A road goes E from Jradzor to Hoghmik (301
v.), on whose territory, on a plateau on the left bank of the Akhurian
river, a Hellenistic settlement was excavated. There are Bronze Age and
medieval burials as well.
The road forks in Amasia (1372 v.) district capital, NW is “Chatin Dara”
ruined fortress. A road E leads to Bandivan (171 v., ancient fort remains
E of village on plateau) and, N from Bandivan, Hovtun (116 v., till
recently Baitar, before Alakilisa, originally Azeris, then Greeks, now
Armenians). The road from Amasia to the NW passes through low, rolling
pasture lands to reach near the villages of Berdashen (144 v., till
recently Tapakoy, ruins of old church, cyclopean fort) and Paghakn (once
Shurabad), the Arpi Reservoir, created by a dam at the source of the
Akhurian river. This reservoir is a major way station for migrating birds
in season. All the little villages around it used to be occupied by Azeris
until 1988. Zorakert (61 v., formerly Balikhli, ruined fort a little NE)
Tsaghkut (91 v., once Gyullija, with medieval fortress 2 km E); Yernajur
(30 v., Chivinli); Garnarich (130 v., Kuzeykend); Shaghik (57 v., till 1991
Karabulagh); Zarishat (49 v., Konjali); Yerizak (formerly Ibish, before
that Aychinkil). Opposite the turnoff for Yerizak, a road leads NE to
Alvar (86 v., till recently Duzkend, ruins of church); Aravet (formerly
Chaibasar); Pokr Sepasar (100 v., cyclopean fort, 17-18th c. church); and
Mets Sepasar(567 v., 10th c. church in village). A dirt road N of the
Akhurian leads E from Berdashen to Ardenis (59 v., formerly Gyollu) and
Aghvorik (44 v., till recently Yeni Yol “New Road”, till 1935 Gharanamaz),
then joins the main road N to the border near Tavshut. About 1.5 km from
Aghvorik toward Tavshut is an obsidian outcropping with an assortment of
stone tools.
North Toward Akhalkalakh (Map M)
The main road N from Gyumri toward the Georgian border passes through
Mayisyan (1078 v., till 1946 Ortakilisa), named for the failed May 1920
Bolshevik attempt to seize power. In the village is a 7th c. S.
Astvatsatsin church of red and black tuff, with inscriptions. Off to the E
is Hatsik (701 v., till 1949 Taparlu) with old church, cemetery and, 1 km
NE, unspecified holy place. N of Hatsik is Karmrakar (44 v., till 1946,
Gharaband) with two ruined churches and pre-Christian fort remains nearby.
Beside the road entering the village is a 2-4th c AC graveyard. A spur road
N of Mayisyan leads to Hovuni (412 v., till 1945 Yasaghul). Keti (634 v.)
has Bronze Age settlements, one by the stream at the NE of the village, the
other SE. There is a shrine and church. Some 2 km NW in a fold of the
hills is another Bronze Age site. The road then passes Pokrashen (128 v.),
after which a turnoff right leads to Arpeni (236 v., till 1978 Palutlu, 19th
c. church). Next turnoff left goes to Goghovit (254 v., till 1978 Taknalu,
church of 1860) and Hoghmik (see below).
The road next reaches Torosgyugh (204 v., once Gyurjiyol, Astvatsatsin
church of 1865), Tsoghamarg (347 v., medieval church and cyclopean fort
nearby), and Vardaghbyur (59 v., once Gyullibulagh “Rose spring”). At
Vardaghbyur, the road forks, the right branch leading to Musayelyan (226
v., till 1946 Boz gyugh) with S. Trdat church of 1896. The road then

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 82

switchbacks over the mountain (not passable until May) some 35 km to

Tashir, through a beautiful, stark, treeless landscape. The first road
right after Vardaghbyur leads S to Salut (50 v., once Skut) and Bashgyugh
(51 v., church). NNW of Musayelian is Hartashen (121 v., till 1946
Dyuzkharaba, church).
The main road N from Vardaghbyur leads to (on left) Karmravan (151 v. till
1935 Ghzlkilisa, church) and (on right) Zuygaghbyur (262 v., till 1946
Chiftali, ruined 19th c. church). Beyond is the capital of the former
Ghukasian Rayon, Ashotsk (1733 v., till 1938 Ghzlghoch, church). Ashotsk,
renamed recently for the medieval name of the area, had been named in honor
of young militant Ghukas Ghukasian, a Spartacist firebrand, head of the
Kars Revkom in the May 1920 Bolshevik uprising, killed by “Mauserists”
while attempting to flee the collapsed revolt). Krasar (272 v. till 1946
Kurdbulagh) is off to the SW.
Ghazanchi (370 v.) has an two old settlement sites, Urmi gerezmanner and
Karvasara, with remains of a 10-11th c. church, etc. Left of the road is
Tavshut (245 v., till 1967 Tazakend), and Sizavet (199 v., till 1946
Korbulagh, then till 1967 Tasghkashen) is on the right. East of Sizavet is
an obsidian outcropping with early stone tools, beside a Bronze Age
settlement. Bavra (326 v., once Titoy Kharaba, ruined in a 1958
earthquake) has a cemetery SW; has old Arabic tombstones. The main road
continues N into the poor, remote, largely Armenian-inhabited Georgian
districts of Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe, over a terrible road. A spur NE
from Bavra leads to Saragyugh (125 v., till 1946 Darakoy).

EXPLORING SYUNIK
Syunik Marz contains some of the most dramatic scenery in Armenia, and is
home to some of the most important historical and cultural remains. Little
explored archaeologically, the region, is a wilderness of high mountains
cut by huge, deep river gorges. The southern tip of the country, around
Meghri, can be reached now only over a high and often foggy or snowy pass,
its normal, easy access through Nakhichevan along the Arax River now cut
off by politics. The roads are being steadily improved, but you should
count on a full day to reach Meghri from Yerevan. Unquestionably, however,
the trip is worth it, in terms of natural beauty and cultural riches.
Important destinations in Syunik include Tatev Monastery, the spectacularly
sited religious capital of S. Armenia, Vorotnavank, Vahanavank, the
standing stones near Sisian, the medieval cave-dwellings of Khndzoresk, and
nature preserves such as Sev Lich and Shikahogh. The little hotel in
Sisian, though shabby, is a clean and satisfactory place to spend a night
or three. The hotel in Kapan is adequate. Every road offers beautiful
streams or sacred spring sites, often with covered picnic tables, by which
to pitch a tent.
Due to its rough terrain and isolation, Syunik stayed relatively autonomous
under the control of local Armenian notables (see the Orbelians in Vayots
Dzor below) long after the rest of the country had been incorporated in
Mongol, Turkish or Persian fiefdoms. It was a hotbed of insurrection under
Davit Bek (see below), and the last redoubt of independent Armenia in 1921
under Garegin Nzhde.
A note on safety: Though a cease fire has held since 1994, occupied areas
of Azerbaijan should be avoided. However, the area along the eastern
border of Syunik is now nowhere near the contact line, and seems safe.
Though rare, there have been incidents in the mountains that separate

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 83

Syunik from the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan; hikers should thus

steer away from that particular watershed.
EXPLORING SYUNIK (updated 8/06, JBK)
Syunik, Armenia's southernmost marz, contains some of the
country's most dramatic scenery, high mountains and alpine
pastures cut by the deep gorges of the Vorotan and other
rivers. The region takes its name from a local dynasty, the
Syuni, who ruled Syunik and the neighboring districts from
before the 4th century AD until their line was ended by the
Seljuks in the 12th century. Early in the 13th century Syunik
was handed over to the Georgian-Armenian noble family of the
Orbelians (see VAYOTS DZOR). Though occasionally devastated by
invasion or earthquake, Syunik was protected by its mountains.
The region thus enjoyed a high degree of autonomy under
Persian, Arab, Mongol, Turkish or other overlords. Syunik was
a hotbed of insurrection against Ottoman occupiers in the 18th
century under Davit Bek, and was the last redoubt of
independent Armenia in 1921 under Garegin Nzhde and the
Dashnaks. There was little study of the region's rich history
during Soviet times. Systematic archaeological exploration of
the region has begun since 2000, with promising results.
The capital of Syunik is the mining town of Kapan. Important
destinations in Syunik include Tatev Monastery, the
spectacularly sited religious capital of southern Armenia,
Vorotnavank, Vahanavank, the Zorats Karer standing stones near
Sisian, the Ukhtasar petroglyps, the medieval cave-dwellings
of Khndzoresk, and nature preserves such as Sev Lich and
Shikahogh. The main cities, Sisian, Goris, and Kapan all have
museums and decent places to spend a night or three. Every
road offers beautiful streams or sacred spring sites, often
with covered picnic tables by which to pitch a tent.
Substantial road improvements since 1999 have made Syunik
easier to reach. In Soviet times the railroad and main
imperial highway ran down the Arax valley to the southernmost
city of Meghri through Nakhichevan. With the Azerbaijan border
closed, Meghri is no longer a three-hour drive from Yerevan.
Now, the Iranian border is at least eight hours away, with two
dangerous mountain passes and the deep gorge of the Vorotan
River to cross. The road connecting Sisian to Yerevan used to
veer south into Nakhichevan to cross the mountains via a lower
pass. Now the trip can be agonizingly slow and difficult in
bad weather. Bring extra food and clothing even in August, and
plan on not driving after dark. Unquestionably, however, the
trip is worth it, in terms of natural beauty and historic
interest.
The border between Syunik and the neighboring provinces of
Azerbaijan was in Soviet times fairly arbitrary, despite
Stalin's best efforts as Nationalities Commissar in 1922. It

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 84

is thus easy to wander unknowing into occupied territories.

This is probably a bad idea. The northern and eastern borders
of Syunik are safely remote from the military contact line,
but there are occasional incidents in the mountains that
separate Syunik from the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan.
Hikers should thus steer away from this particular watershed,
but there are plenty of others.
Entering Syunik – The Syunik Highlands
Access to Syunik is via the highway S down the Ararat valley
to the Erashk traffic circle and then east along the Arpachay
through Vayots Dzor. This road – Armenia's vital connection to
Iran and Nagorno Karabakh -- is kept in good repair thanks to
generous contributions from the Armenian diaspora. Still,
figure on more than three hours of intense driving to reach
Sisian from Yerevan.
At the summit of the pass from Vayots Dzor, the border with
Syunik is marked by a huge modern stone monument, the Gates of
Zangezur, with a little spring. A little way beyond the pass
are metal sheds and dirt piles left over from construction of
the Vorotan tunnel. Begun in 1982 but only completed in 2003,
this 22-km tunnel takes water from the Vorotan (once the
Bazarchai) River, the dominant feature of North Syunik, and
uses it to restore the water level of Lake Sevan.
Entering the Vorotan watershed the landscape changes
dramatically. North of the highway, rolling grasslands rise
toward a cluster of geologically recent 3000-meter volcanoes
along the border with Azerbaijan. From mid-June until mid-
October, families from the local villages camp in the little
valleys to pasture their sheep and cows, cut hay, and keep
bees. In October they drive their flocks the five-day journey
to winter pasture in the (occupied) Azerbaijani lowlands of
Qubatli. In many respects this life has changed little from
the three thousand years before, when their remote ancestors
left little mounded tombs on many of the grassy hilltops.
The village of Gorayk (600 p, also Gorhayk, formerly
Bazarchai) stands just before the Spandarian artificial
reservoir. Opposite the northern part of Spandarian reservoir
2 km south of where the Goris highway crosses the Vorotan
river, an unsignposted dirt road (four-way intersection at N39
40.96 E45 47.97) leads N into this beautiful alpine country.
In dry weather (July through September), a Niva or the like
can reach the dramatic obsidian cliffs of Mt. Basenk, Sevkar
(formerly Karakhach) and Satanakar (formerly Davagyoz).
Basenk is the nearest but least impressive obsidian site. Its
cloudy gray obsidian chips too unpredictably for stone tools.
From the highway, take the right fork at 0.8 km, and bear
right again at approx. 8.6 km. The obsidian outcropping shows
across a little valley (N39 45.36 E45 51.16).

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 85

The western flanks of Sevkar provided fine, almost transparent

black (or mottled black/brown/red) obsidian for Neolithic and
Bronze Age toolmakers. Some of their wares were exported as
far as Iran. At approximately 8.2 km on the road toward
Basenk, a track forks left, generally paralleling a modern
water pipeline to Goris, and leads ultimately (ca. 14 km from
the highway) to a major spring underneath the Sevkar cliffs
(N39 46.70 E45 47.40).
Mets Satanakar is strikingly beautiful, a massive obsidian
cliff with obsidian boulders two meters long. It is well worth
the effort to get there. One workable route takes the left
fork (0.8 km from highway), then bears right at the ensuing
fork (ca. 6.4 km), then follows the main track to the end,
from which it is about a 3 km walk NE across rolling grassland
to the cliffs (N39 49.10 E45 48.74).
The ride is bumpy, the weather unstable, and the reward for
hammering on obsidian is nasty cuts on your eyeballs –
obsidian is the sharpest natural substance you will ever
encounter. In 2003 the eminent vulcanologist Sergei Haikevich
Karapetian surprised a bear in its cave in the gorge west of
Sevkar, and earned some impressive scars. Wolves have also
been spotted. So bring lunch, warm clothes, eye protection,
sunscreen, and an unthreatening but resolutely un-food-like
attitude. If offered hospitality by a local shepherd, accept
it – the dairy products. lavash, and homemade mulberry vodka
are delicious.
Back on the main highway south of the reservoir is Tsghuk (405
p, formerly Borisovka, Murkuz). About 1 km N of the next
village, Sarnakunk (540 p), a clay pot was found in 1945 with
a coin hoard including coins from Alexander the Great to Mark
Antony (who captured Armenia briefly in 35 BC). This is the
richest classical find ever from southern Armenia.
Somewhere near Satanakar, at about 3000 m near the headwaters
of the Vorotan river, petroglyphs (in Armenian itsagir "goat-
writing") are hammered into the dark "desert varnish" that
covers the exposed face of basalt boulders. These prehistoric
line-drawings occur on thousands of boulders all along the
ridge line further to the E. The most common drawing is of
wild sheep or goats with big, curved horns, but deer, horses,
wolves, bears, and their human hunters are also depicted. The
exact dating of the petroglyphs is unknown, with guesses
ranging from 5000 to 2000 BC.
The most important petroglyph site in Armenia is 25 km SW in
the saddle of Ukhtasar ("covenant/pilgrimage mountain" but
often written Ughtasar -- "camel mountain", N39 41.20 E46
03.25). This was clearly a favorite campsite for prehistoric
herding/hunting parties roaming the grasslands N of the
mountain range. In the boulder field around a little lake are

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 86

hundreds of petroglyphs. The air at 3300 m is clear, the views

memorable, and the little volcanic crater lakes just W show
bear tracks in the mud to remind us that the gap between these
simple hunter/shepherds and ourselves is not always as wide as
we believe. Be very careful when camping.
The desert varnish in which these artworks are etched is
fragile. Their only protection from modern vandals is the
extreme difficulty of access. The track starts from the little
hamlet of Iskhanasar (204 p, through the 2001 census Ghzljugh,
though its Azerbaijani population has been replaced by
Armenians). Take the right turn in front of the village store
and bear generally NE. However, the odds are heavily against
finding the right track without a local guide, available in
Sisian. Typically the driver (e.g., Sasun Baghdasarian at 093
821472, some English; Arshak Sahakian, 093 842819) charges
30000 dram for himself and his sturdy Willys. Figure at least
3.5 hours of bone-jarring tracks, plus the time on site.
Angeghakot and Environs (Map L)
The modern village of Spandarian (445 p, named for the famous
Armenian revolutionary, till 1939 Meliklu or Kalachik) is a
nondescript cluster of houses. In the Vorotan gorge below it,
a difficult scramble down wet, overgrown slopes, is a ruined
5-6th c. basilica church of good ashlar masonry in the middle
of the original village. The church was crudely repaired and
roofed in the 19th century. It has 14th century khachkars,
tombstones, and a few reused blocks from some other grand
early structure. South toward the Vorotan and across a little
stream is a small ancient blockhouse with walls two meters
thick. Its date is unknown, but it must have guarded one of
the few points where the Vorotan is easily fordable. It also
gave the name "Berdik" (little fort) to the old village.
Allegedly there is an Islamic cemetery on the hillside SE.
Angeghakot (1739 p) is a sprawling village athwart the pre-
1980 highway on the cliffs overlooking the Vorotan River.
Judging from obsidian tools found on the slope below the east
end of the village, the caves below the modern village have
been inhabited from later Paleolithic times. The name is
allegedly a reference to a pre-Christian divinity named
Angegh. Inside the village, the earliest datable remains are
the lower walls of a small but substantial church, possibly as
early as the 5th c, on the west side of the village below the
road. This is now a nameless and neglected shrine. The
adjacent plot is full of medieval tombstones. On the cliff
edge below is an unornamented late 18th or early 19th century
S. Mariam Astvatsatsin church, refurbished by a Sisian
businessman in 2006 and served by Father Grigor. A few meters
above it to the NW is a tiny cemetery and an odd medieval
tower house now called the "Zeythan" or "oil press." Along the

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 87

road east of S. Astvatsatsin is a cluster of medieval

khachkars. Continuing 300 m further southeast on the cliff
road to the last houses, a foot path leads down to S. Stepanos
church with a good khachkar of 1283 built into the front wall.
An inscription credits the building of the church to Master
Panos the son of Reverend Vilusi, with a partly obliterated
date of 1708. Further E, in the gorge just below the town,
completely hidden behind a modern stone-cutting plant, is an
impressively ancient roofless S. Hazaraprkich (“Savior of
Thousands”) church. The N wall is bedrock with many crosses
carved in it. In the church are several medieval khachkars.
In 1699 an enterprising local figure named Israel Ori convoked
a meeting of eleven Armenian meliks at the fortified house of
local notable Melik Safraz to draft a petition to Czar Peter
the Great, the Pope, and other potentates asking their
intervention against Armenia’s Persian overlords. He was
ignored by the pope, and thrown in jail by the Russians for
his trouble. Traces of that period, including a couple of
water mills and one substantial late medieval ruined mansion,
spread on the slopes below the S. Astvatsatsin church. There
are also at least six small caves, some of them now shrines.
In the 18th century the population of Angeghakot became
largely Turkic. The village was refounded in 1829 by Armenians
expelled from the Persian empire in reprisal for the Russian
conquest of Armenia.
Angeghakot is surrounded by Bronze Age and later tumulus
graves. A few hundred meters east of the village, on a path
serving a series of rock shelters below the cliffs, is a large
cave with a spring below. Deep test trenches and sherd scatter
suggest thousands of years of human occupation, but now the
cows prevail. West from Angeghakot the lower fork of the road
leads SW toward Shaghat. One km along on the right, a footpath
leads up to a rough medieval church of S. Vardan nestled
against the cliffs on a terrace overlooking the Vorotan
valley. The shrine, made of massive unworked blocks butted up
against a small cave and rock shelter, is still a pilgrimage
site. According to village tradition, the defeated Armenian
army stopped to rest here after the battle of Avarayr in AD
451, carrying the body of their martyred general Vardan
Mamikonian. There are picnic tables above, and a small group
of khachkars, including one dated 1298. The next right fork
leads up to a small valley, Maturadasht, with scant remains of
a medieval church nestled among robbed-out early graves and
walls. Up the track is Karanli cave, with traces of early
habitation, and a Chalcolithic and Iron Age site excavated in
2005-6 by archaeologist Pavel Avetisyan. Further up the gorge
of the Vorotan is a pair of boulders with prehistoric
petroglyphs.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 88

The main road crosses the Vorotan to the modern village of

Shaghat (1018 p). According to Stepanos Orbelian, the original
Shaghat, which may or not be in this location, became the
religious capital of Syunik under Prince Babik in the late 4th
century AD. His father Andovk, hereditary lord of Syunik, had
grievously offended King Shapur II of Persia (309-379), by
treacherously plundering one of his cities while Shapur was
dealing with the Huns. Shapur, determined to assert Sasanian
predominance in Armenia, sent his army to Syunik. Andovk fled
to Constantinople while his subjects scattered. Before they
did so, they concealed their valuable relics and other
religious treasures in the domed church of Surp Stepanos (St.
Stephen the Protomartyr) and then, the legend has it,
disguised the church as a hill of dirt. Years later, Babik
managed to redeem his family in Persian eyes through heroism
in the Shah's wars. Having reclaimed his feudal rights in
Syunik, he then rediscovered the buried church, allegedly
while hunting a deer, when his horse got its hoof stuck in a
hole. The church then proved its holiness through a series of
miracles. Shaghat, however, was also on the main invasion
route. The bishopric moved to Syuni Vank in Sisian, and then
in the 9th century to the more defensible site of Tatev.
Modern Shaghat boasts only a 19th century church of S. Gevork,
precariously split by a 1978 landslide that forced most
villagers to move to more stable soil N in the Vorotan valley.
On the hills around are faint but important remains from the
Bronze Age and later. In 2005-6 a joint U.S.-Armenian team
under the auspices of the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology
and the Ancient World at Brown University excavated one room
of an Iron Age hilltop citadel and interesting traces of a
Middle Bronze Age (2000-1500 BC) settlement.
Balak (128 v), east of Shaghat, has one 19th century church,
in ruins, and just south of the village a mound with Yervandid
chamber tombs, some of whose stones were recarved as khachkars
and stood up in a field. The terraced hill further east has
traces of a significant Yervandid/Hellenistic settlement.
Another road south from Shaghat leads up a river gorge to the
muddy village of Mutsk (376 p), still known to the locals as
Bardzravan but called Mazra until 1946. The village is built
on clay deposits, the slippage of one of which caused the S.
Astvatsatsin church of 1870 to collapse ignominiously. Just
before the modern cemetery (with a prominent WWII memorial and
splendid panoramic view), in a house on the left, is a shrine
to "Sato Baji," Satenik Mirzakhanian (1895-1968), a pious
perpetual virgin credited with several miraculous cures. From
Bardzravan the road winds up the hills to the (closed and
militarized) border with Nakhichevan.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 89

Back on the main Yerevan-Goris highway, a stone-built traffic

police checkpoint with bus stop, restaurant and cafe marks the
right turn south toward Sisian. From the Sisian road, turn
right into Shaki (1237 p), until 1992 a mixed village, Azeris
uphill in the older part (occasional khachkars), Armenians
downhill. Above the Armenian cemetery on the west side are the
ruins of a modest medieval chapel, now replaced as cult site
by an incongruous, tiny post-Soviet stone church. The Azeri
cemetery E across the Sisian road has been thoroughly
vandalized.
According to legend, the village was named for Shake, one of
93 maidens saved from flood by a miracle. From the Shaki
village center jog right, and left again to follow a dirt road
that leads to the Shaki river. This tributary of the Vorotan,
fed by Armenia's second largest spring after Garni's, joins
the main stream via a small (because diverted to a
hydroelectric plant) but attractive waterfall. For a small fee
(2000 dram should suffice), the operators will turn the wheels
that restore the waterfall to something near its original
splendor. Near the village should be ruins of Shaki Vank,
mentioned by Stepanos Orbelian but unlocated.
Sisian and Tanahati Vank (Map L)
Sisian (15019 p, Gharakilisa “Black Church” till 1935, then
Sisavan till 1940) is a pleasant town at the confluence of the
Vorotan and Sisian rivers. Its Soviet-era hotel, the Dina
(www.hoteldina.am, 093 334393, ask for Nuneh) is simple but
clean, 10,000 dram for a large double room with hot water. The
more expensive Basen hotel is just around the corner, opposite
an adequate internet club. There are several B&Bs, including a
well-recommended one above Syuni Vank.
Entering Sisian from the north, the visitor first confronts
the posterior of a statue of Mother Armenia on a tall
pedestal. The plaque below gives the names of those who fell
fighting to achieve the Sovietization of Zangezur in 1922
(i.e., fighting the Dashnaks). To the left, a long dragon-
frieze fountain commemorates the 40th anniversary of Soviet
victory in World War II and counsels a peaceful life.
The road uphill to the left (signposted S. Hovhannes) leads to
a cemetery to Sisian’s Karabakh martyrs, and from there to
Syuni Vank, better known as Sisavan or (commonly but probably
incorrectly) as S. Hovhannes. According to Stepanos Orbelian,
Syuni Vank was founded by the pious Princess Varazdukht in the
middle of the 6th century and dedicated to St. Gregory the
Illuminator. The architect was Bishop Hovhannes of Syunik, who
became Katholikos in 590. The church was rebuilt with its
current domed structure by Prince Kohazat and Bishop Yovsep I
between 670 and 689, and restored in the 19th and 20th
centuries. In Stepanos's time Syuni Vank was third in

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 90

ecclesiastic precedence after Tatev and Tanahati Vank. It

housed a religious school and was the court church of many of
Syunik's early rulers. The church, heavily damaged by
earthquakes, was restored and reopened to worship in 1979.
High on the west facade of the church is a sculpted relief of
Bishop Hovhannes. Crowning the left-hand niche of the same
facade is the face of Princess Varazdukht. Inside the church,
around the dome, are portraits of Kohazat and Yovsep. The
altar is allegedly built on the site of a pagan temple, from
which only a few holes remain in the rock. Inside the church
are a couple of early printed ecclesiastical works and four
impressively tiny miniatures etched by Eduard Ter-Ghazarian on
a human hair, on half a grain of rice, etc.
The crossroads framing the history museum is marked by a
massive statue of the eminent historian Nicholas Adontz (1872-
1942), who wrote important works on Byzantine and Armenian
history from academic exile in Europe. Born in the nearby
village of Brnakot, Adontz has an exhibit in his honor in the
entry hall of the museum. Tickets cost 300 dram, and the
museum is officially open 11-13 and 14-17 every day but
Monday. The second room of the museum has on display 2nd and
1st millennium BC pottery and other finds from the Bronze Age
cemetery of Zorats Karer and nearby (see below). On the E side
of Sisian, a princely tomb of the 2-1st c. BC contained rich
grave goods. On the plateau east of town is a large Middle
Bronze through Early Iron Age cemetery. The hall on the right
has folk handicrafts and ethnographic materials. The left-hand
hall has displays on 19th and 20th century Syunik, including
land records, a sword, and other memorabilia of the Melik-
Tangian noble family (see Brnakot below). There are displays
on the Armenian resistance to Turkey and Azerbaijan in 1917-
1920, on the Dashnak leader Garegin Nzhdeh, and on Sisian's
WWII veterans. In the museum garden are medieval khachkars
from Angeghakot, boulders with petroglyphs, and a series of
medieval sheep-shaped tombstones, some with Persian
inscriptions, perhaps a testament to the presence of Turkmen
tribes in the region in the 15th through 18th centuries.
Not to be missed when visiting Sisian are the standing-stone
circles at Zorats Karer* (or Zorakarer). Ascending from
downtown Sisian on the steep road NNE from the center of town,
climb up the hill, then turn hard left where you see two
rusting yellow steel umbrellas. This road will lead you in a
couple of km over rolling grassland until shortly before
rejoining the main Goris road, where a signposted dirt road on
your left leads to the Bronze Age settlement/cemetery site of
Zorats Karer. The principal attraction is a cluster of large
chamber tombs made of massive boulders, around which are
circles of standing stones. Clearly these Bronze Age royal

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 91

burials attracted later worshipers, who stood additional lines

of massive stones, some with holes pierced in them. Local
enthusiasts claim this is an early astronomical observatory
predating Stonehenge, but neither the chronology of the tombs
nor the alignment of stones suits their arguments very well.
In any case, the site is beautiful and ancient, well worth the
visit, especially near sunset when the views over the grassy
hillsides are dramatic. Descending into the gorge and
following the little creek downstream gives one a beautiful
walk back to Sisian through the wooded valley of the Sisian
forestry enterprise, a state institution.
The westerly of the two roads leading SW from Sisian takes one
to Brnakot (1926 p), which supposedly boasts three churches:
S. Grigor (right of the road beyond the war memorial), S.
Astvatsatsin, and a third nameless. Tacked onto the S side of
the 1704 basilica of S. Grigor is a gavit/cupola built in 1848
to house the tombs of the family of Melik T'angi, “hazarapet”
(Armenian equivalent of his Turkic/Persian title Min-bashi,
“lord of a thousand”) and major notable in Syunik till the
last years of Russian imperial rule. The Melik-T'angian family
claimed descent from the Orbelian rulers of Syunik in the 13-
15th c. When the Orbelians were finally dispossessed by Jehan
Shah of the Karakoyunlu Turkmen confederation in 1437, the
Melik-T'angians allegedly kept hold of rights to the villages
in the NW corner of modern Syunik Marz, from Angeghakot to
Vorotan. In 1912 members of the family still controlled huge
tracts of property. As was common in these noble families, a
late member Nerses Melik-T'angian (1866-1948), served as
Archbishop of Atrpatakan (Persian Azerbaijan). The church is
locked, and the donkey guarding it bites. Residents of Sisian
say that Brnakot is famous for its crazy people. From the E
edge of Brnakot a dirt road leads to Ashotavan.
The second SW road from Sisian leads past the Tolors reservoir
and a prominent WWII memorial to the modern village of
Ashotavan (561 p). The church and most of the old houses are
submerged in the reservoir, built in 1976. Following the
course of the Sisian river, the road passes Hatsavan (224 p,
medieval bridge, ruined medieval fort of Kakavaberd on the
stony hill immediately NW). Note that the paved right fork
just before Hatsavan leads up a pretty stream valley to the
village of Salvard (406 p). From Salvard, a rough dirt track
leads back to Tasik (293 p, with Ditkash sacred site, castle
ruins). Beyond Hatsavan and Tasik, the road passes the turnoff
(W) to the hamlet of Tanahat (31 p, formerly the Azeri village
of Jomardlu). The road ends at Arevis (77 p), now inhabited by
refugees from Azerbaijan.
At about 7 km above the Hatsavan fork, you see on a bluff left
across the river the low red remains of Tanahati Vank* or (as

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 92

it is known to the locals) Karmir Vank. It may be possible to

ford the river by car below the monastery, while one km
upstream of it is a deeper ford or, 80 m further upstream, a
precarious footbridge made of an old truck chassis, with a
pleasant foot track leading up (20 minutes) to the monastery.
Preserved are remains of a single-aisle basilica, perhaps of
the fifth c., with a small columned hall adjoining it S. W of
the church is a little cemetery, which includes the well-
preserved cist grave of a notable at its highest point.
According to Stepanos Orbelian, the Bishop of Syunik and
family historian writing in the late 13th century:
“At that time flourished the superb and marvelous refuge of
Tanahati Vank, situated at the bottom of Upper Syunik, on a
wooded plateau. Except the servers, no one passed the gates of
the convent. Despite the repeated injunctions of the princes
and bishops of Syunik, they would not consent to fortify
themselves on Sundays with soup, cheese and oil -- fruits and
vegetables sufficed. Thence their name of Tanahat, ‘deprived
of soup.’ ... We have found in their inscriptions that their
church was built 400 years before the Armenian era (ed. note:
AD 151, not possible) by the princes of Syunik, under the name
of S. Stepanos the Protomartyr.
They had as superior a certain Mkhitar, who by his austerities
had taken his place in the ranks of those most virtuous, who
tamed wild beasts such as bears and wolves into service to the
church, and forced them to make themselves useful to the
convent or, as an inscription attests, to be the vassals of
the convent. ... having presided for many years over the
convent, he joined the angels. His holy remains were placed in
a wooden coffin on a hill near the church, where a grave had
been dug and lined with masonry. This tomb has survived to the
present day and works great miracles on those afflicted with
illness.”
Noteworthy from Tanahat, though moved to the Yerevan museum,
is the only known Urartian inscription from this region, a
stele later recarved as a khachkar and bearing an inscription
of King Argishti II of the late 8th century BC: “To God Haldi,
Lord, Argishti son of Rusa erected this stele for his life.
Let from Haldi to Argishti son of Rusa be benevolence,
happiness, life, joy, might, as well as greatness, strength
and power. By the might of Haldi … in one day I captured…
(missing). (On the reverse) Came to me the king of the country
of Etiuhi, gave me tribute of his country … here I carried off
men, women, burned cities, destroyed fortresses. … There was a
battle. The noble men of [the country of] Tsuluku before [the
city of] Irdua appeared in front of me. I enslaved [king]
Zazina, imposed tribute there. By might of Haldi, Argishti son
of Rusa – mighty king, king [of the country of] Biainili,

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 93

ruler of the city of Tushpa.” The inscription marks the

furthest limit of Urartian expansion.
To Dastakert (Map L)
A road SE from Sisian leads past Uyts (424 p). The hill N of
the vilalge boasts substantial walls and tower remains of an
important fortress settlement of the late Bronze and Iron Age,
plus many robbed prehistoric tombs. Excavations began there in
2006.
Continuing past the reservoir, the modern site of Tolors (378
p) has Late Bronze Age and early Iron Age tombs nearby. Uphill
from the village is an interesting medieval cemetery. The old
village of Akhlatyan (551 p), destroyed by the 1931
earthquake, has a ruined S. Sargis church, Bronze Age
megalithic monuments, and a monumental tumulus to the N.
Bnunis (187 p): Prince Ashot of Syunik gave this village to
Tatev monastery in 906. In the NW part is an Orbelian prince’s
tombstone of 1321. There are two churches, one ruined, the
other with 14th c. khachkars built into the walls. Till the
earthquake of 1931 there was funerary monument of the late 13th
c. standing in the graveyard, built for Prince Manik. The
village was reinhabited in 1866. S of the village is a water
channel built by a local priest and called Keshish Arkh.
Further S are Torunik (157 p, formerly Kizilshafak, with
church and cemetery), Soflu (93 p), and Dastakert (264 p),
with a non-functioning molybdenum mine. Some 2 km N is an
inscription called Vardapeti Kar, dated 1320, for a gentleman
named Baghtar who had no son and was obliged to look after his
own soul rather than leave it to his descendants.
To Vorotnavank and Beyond (Map L)
A highly recommended route leaves Sisian to the SE following
the main road through the village on the E side of the river.
The road turns left uphill, and ends at a T junction just past
a stop sign. Turn right at the T, and follow the road SE. The
road cuts through the remnants of a medieval fortress,
generally identified as the historic Syuni Berd, facing the
earlier fortress at Uyts across the river gorge. Just before
the village of Aghitu (365 p), you see on the left the remains
of a substantial Muslim cemetery. The village, better known as
Aghudi, has a large restored 7th c. funerary monument W of the
road (39 31.00N x 046 05.00E). It is claimed that this was the
burial site of the Syuni dynasty since Hellenistic times.
There is also a Middle Bronze Age tomb field. From Aghitu, a
fork left allegedly climbs to Noravan (505 p, founded 1928),
and thence to the main Sisian-Goris highway. Staying on the
main road through Aghitu, a few km beyond, take the right fork
(left goes to Vaghatin, 589 p, till 1991 the Azeri village of
Vagudi), which soon provides a splendid view of the Vorotan
gorge and Vorotnavank*. This fortified monastery sits, right

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 94

of the road via a paved driveway about 8.5 km from the stop
sign, on a promontory overlooking the Vorotan. The main S.
Stepanos church was built in AD 1000 by Queen Shahandukht, and
the adjoining S. Karapet church was built in 1007 by her son
Sevada. The dome of S. Karapet collapsed in the earthquake of
1931. There are interesting carved gravestones in the
cemetery. One of the churches is allegedly good for snakebite.
From the monastery, the road winds down to a bridge. Staying
on the N side of the river, a road goes to Vorotan (280 p),
with 9-14th c. khachkars and a bridge of 1855 built by Melik
Tangi, the Brnakot notable, and thence to Shamb hot springs,
warm springs that local Peace Corps volunteers have bathed
without ill effects.
Crossing the automobile bridge, the road reaches (1.1 km) a
bend in the river, with a steep, rocky hill left of the road.
Crowning the summit are the sparse remains of Vorotnaberd*, a
key site in Armenian history since AD 450, when it was a
stronghold of the rebels under Vardan Mamikonian. Border
fortress of the kingdom of Kapan, it was captured by the
Seljuk Turks in 1104, then recaptured by Ivane Zakarian in
1219 and given to Liparit Orbelian. It was captured by the
troops of Timur Lenk in 1386, but the Orbelian brothers
managed to persuade the Mongols to give it back. Karayusuf
took it from Smbat in 1407, but in 1724 Davit Bek took it back
from Melik Baghr. There are interesting pottery fragments of
all periods on the slope, perhaps crockery dropped on the
heads of successive invaders.
Beyond, a left fork goes to Ltsen (161 p), with a church and a
shrine of 1347. There is a S. Khach pilgrimage site SE. Name
of the village comes, according to legend, from a local holy
man named Nerses, who urged the villagers to drop (ltsnel)
boulders down on the invading Mongols. The right fork joins
the Loradzor river at Darbas (689 p). This village has a
ruined S. Astvatsatsin church built in the 13th c. by Tarsayich
Orbelian and his wife Mamakhatun. There is a small, ruined S.
Stepanos church and, below the village, the “Arzumani Bridge”
of 1680, with inscription: “In the year of the Armenians 1129
(1680), in the reign of Shah Suleiman, and of local prince
Maghsot Bek, who was controller of the royal house, was built
the bridge of Haji Arzuman Agha for his remembrance, who was
administrator of this place and many villages of this region,
a man of good repute … by the hand of master Hayrapet.”
Next is Getatagh (202 p), with S. Astvatsatsin Church of 1702.
Lor (358 p) has at the entrance to town the so-called Spitak
Khach (white cross) khachkar monument of 1271. The basilica
church of S. Gevorg in the village (non-functioning, locked)
dates to 1666, built according to legend by Khoja Poghos in
gratitude for the safe return of his beautiful wife from the

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 95

clutches of Shah Abbas. On the slope above town is a chapel

called Sargsi Khacher with an inscription of 1345 saying this
S. Astvatsatsin church was built by Sargis and Amir Hasan for
the salvation of their souls. Tsaru S. Hovhannes church of
1686 is 0.5 km SW.
The reverends Smith and Dwight spent two days snow-bound in
Lor in 1830, staying with the son of the local priest. "He
welcomed us hospitably to his own family room. It was under
ground, like all the houses of these mountains, and lighted
only by an open sky-light in the centre, through which the
snow was continually falling. In different parts, piles of
grain were heaped upon the ground, which formed the floor.
Here a deep wicker basket plastered with mud and cow-dung,
answered the purpose of a flour-barrel; there was a large
chest of bread, the principal food of the family. In a dark
corner was a pile of carpets, mattresses, cushions and
coverlets for their accommodation at night; and in another
direction stood a cradle with its crying contents." Warmed by
the tonir oven sunk into the floor, the two Americans were
warmed even more to find a man who owned and even read the
Bible. From Lor, which they said had been depopulated under
Nadir Shah and had only 12 houses, they rode on to Sisian,
Shaghat (where they found the locals to be working or
traveling on the Sabbath), and over the mountains to
Nakhichevan.
More or less at the end of the road, Shenatagh (299 p, from
1940 till recently Lernashen) has a S. Martiros church of
1860, with inscribed tombstones, and various cave hiding
places and ruined hamlets nearby. There is a ruined castle in
the gorge somewhere.
East to Goris -- Kotrats Caravansaray, Khndzoresk (Map L)
From the Sisian-Goris highway, dirt roads (ask) lead N to Mets
Ishkhanasar, a 3550 m volcano on the border with Azerbaijan.
In the crater 3 km E of the main summit is Sev Lich, Black
Lake at 2657 m, a unique lake ecosystem, since 1987 a State
Reserve.
A signposted road turns S from the highway to Harzhis (781 p),
which is perched above the Vorotan Gorge among rolling
volcanic uplands. About half way to Harzhis, where the power
pylons cross the road, a dirt road leads back NNW to the
substantial remains of the Kotrats Caravansaray* built in 1319
by the Orbelian family as a way point on the Silk Road. The
Armenian inscription over the door is badly weathered, but a
Persian inscription survives above it. There are also standing
stones of an early Iron Age cemetery nearby. An Aramaic
inscription was found nearby. Beyond Harzhis, a rough dirt
road continues SE to Shinuhayr, passing remains of a medieval
hamlet on the edge of the gorge. There are castle remains

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 96

somewhere nearby. Deep inside the gorge below Harzhis is a 13th

c. bridge over the Vorotan.
Coming from the West, turn right just before the bridge to
enter the town of Goris (20840 p), which sprawls out along the
gorge of the Goris River. There is a good small hotel, new in
2006, and a B & B. The old Soviet-era hotel, if it still
operates, has a poor reputation. Goris is home to the Axel
Bakunts house museum, commemorating one of Armenia’s great
prose writers, who died in prison in 1937, paying a delayed
price for “nationalist deviationism” and past Dashnak
sympathies. There is a regional museum as well, with some
important recent archaeological finds, and new busts of some
of the Dashnak leaders of Zangezur's resistance from 1918-21,
first to Azerbaijani territorial aspirations and then to the
Red Army. Goris is famous for its fierce home-made fruit
vodkas, its honey, and for the medieval cave-dwellings carved
out of the soft volcanic tuff in the southern part of town.
Crossing the bridge at the entrance to Goris, the road
continues toward Lachin and Stepanakert, first passing the
turnoff right to Hartashen (653 p, founded 1965-70 from the
three small villages of Azatashen/Alighuli, Dzorashen and
Aigedzor, with a S. Hripsime church in one of them) and then
the metal archway marking the right turn for Khndzoresk (1954
p). At the far end of Khndzoresk village, turn hard right
(straight goes to Nerkin Khndzoresk, 184 p) and wind down past
a cemetery. A deteriorating dirt track descends into the gorge
and the interesting remains of Old Khndzoresk*, a medieval and
early modern village largely hewn into the soft rock. Almost
nothing remains, alas, of the 18th c. mansion of the local
lord, Melik Paramaz, well-preserved in the 1930s. Given a
local break-in artist who visits isolated cars, it is
advisable to leave your car at the top of the gorge and walk
down. You pass a number of artificial caves now used as
stables, and other building remains. At the bottom of the
gorge, turn downstream to reach a S. Hripsime church of 1663,
sadly defiled by graffiti and cow droppings. On a spur beyond
on the right side of the gorge is a 17th c. Anapat (hermitage),
with the tomb of Mkhitar Sparapet, who was Davit Bek’s chief
aide and successor in his war to drive out the infidel
Muslims. Mkhitar was murdered in 1730 by the nervous Armenian
villagers of Khndzoresk, who had vainly beseeched him to hole
up in his own stronghold rather than their village. The
Ottoman Pasha in Tabriz, to whom they presented his head,
found this treachery distasteful, and decapitated the
murderers. The site is green and memorable. There is a 17th c.
cave church of S. Tadevos somewhere about, and a couple of 17th
c. spring monuments.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 97

Back on the main road E, Karashen (544 p) has a 16-17th c.

church, and tombs with 13-15th c. khachkars; it was home to a
1920 Communist Party cell. Tegh (2135 p) has a S. Gevorg
church of the 4-5th c., rebuilt in medieval times, and the 1783
mansion of the Melik-Barkhudarian family just NE of the
church. The reverends Smith and Dwight probably spent a night
around the fire here in 1830. Nearby are Iron Age tombs, and
Arneghtsi church 4 km SE. N of the village are some fine
khachkars. Aravus (160 p) has an 18th c. church. Kornidzor
(1047 p) has cave dwellings nearby.
From Goris, the road N from the bridge on the E side of the
Goris river leads up to Verishen (2129 p), which has a large
S. Hripsime church built in 1621 on 5th c. foundations. There
is also a rock-cut inscription of 1294, with an early Persian
inscription above, marking a rebuilding of an aqueduct that
carried the water from Verishen’s famous Vararaki springs to
the estates of Tatev. Brun (1035 p) has cyclopean structures
and remains of a medieval fortress. Near the village are
remains of a 10th c. water channel. Beyond Brun are Vaghatur
(467 p), Khoznavar (463 p, ruined S. Minas church of 1675) and
Khnatsakh (980 p), the latter with a church of 1610, khachkars
of 13-17th c. on hilltops surrounding, and shrines. Perhaps two
km NE of Khnatsakh, on a hillside just inside the Lachin
district of Azerbaijan, are the ruins of Tsitsernavank, named
either for the nearby swallows or else for a piece of the
little finger of the Apostle Peter supposed to have been kept
here. The long, narrow basilica is thought to date from as
early as the 5th c., with a small bell-tower added in late
medieval times.
The Road to Tatev (Map L)
The turnoff to Tatev from the Sisian-Goris highway is 27.7 km
east of the Sisian/Shaki turnoff. Take the right (SW) fork,
aiming for the village of Shinuhayr (2222 p, 17th c. S.
Stepanos church, cave dwellings near old village, and a fine,
tall 16th c. khachkar). The SE fork leads to Khot (863 p),
which has or had a ruined 5-8th c. church, Khotavank, now gone,
an insignificant Meghradzori Khach church of 1700, ruins of
Karmir Khach church in the cemetery, Iron Age tombs and, near
the gorge, the ruined medieval castle of Khanapa and other
remains. Beyond it, Karahunj (1172 p) has a S. Hripsime shrine
of 1675, cave dwellings, khachkars, and a fort of some
description.
Passing straight through Shinuhayr you pass the modern site of
Halidzor village (563 p), which was donated to Tatev monastery
in the 10th c. It has an early 17th c. church. One km E is
Vanasar, a site with khachkars, which Prince Tarsayich
Orbelian gave to the architect Siranes as payment for building
Amaghu Noravank.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 98

From Halidzor, the narrow, partly dirt road winds down into
the gorge of the Vorotan. On a promontory jutting out into the
gorge is built a small stone gazebo. A dubious local legend
says a maiden threw herself off the precipice to avoid
marriage to a Muslim notable. More likely the spot is an
observation point marking Tatev's territory. The road crosses
the river at the so-called Satan’s Bridge, worth a brief halt.
There the Vorotan goes briefly underground, its deep and
narrow gorge having been blocked by an ancient landslide.
Upstream of the "bridge" is a naturally carbonated warm
mineral spring (Smith and Dwight found it full of pigs, to the
dismay of their thirsty Muslim muleteers; now it is full of
trash) and a small picnic area. Below the Devil’s bridge is an
isolated 11-13th c. church in the valley. The road switchbacks
steeply up to the village of Tatev (985 p, with a simple
village church restored by the Land and Culture Organization
during the 1990s) and the monastery just below.
The fortified Tatev monastery** (39 22.81N x 046 15.01E)
stands overlooking the Vorotan gorge from a very strong
setting. It was for centuries the seat of the Bishops of
Syunik, a center of learning, and storehouse of wealth from
taxing all the villages in the region. According to legend it
was named for St. Eustathius, one of 70 disciples who
accompanied the Apostle Thaddeus into Armenia. Stepanos
Orbelian, the medieval bishop/historian of Syunik, recounts
that Tatev housed 600 monks, philosophers “deep as the sea,”
able musicians, painters, calligraphers, and all the other
accoutrements of a center of culture and learning. The
monastery produced teachers and manuscripts for the whole
Armenian world.
Stepanos Orbelian knew no date for the original insignificant
church on the site. However, Bishop Davit gathered the princes
of Syunik in 844 and persuaded them to grant the monastery
villages and lands worthy of the relics -- including bits of
S. John the Baptist, S. Stephen, S. Hripsime, S. Gregory the
Illuminator, and a piece of the True Cross -- that had found
their way to the designated seat of the Bishops of Syunik. It
was Bishop Ter-Hovhannes, however, who built the main church
dedicated to Saints Poghos and Petros (Paul and Peter) in 895-
906. Ter-Hovhannes was the son of a poor villager. According
to Stepanos Orbelian, the young Hovhannes, sent off by his
cruel step-mother to watch the mayor's chickens, lost them,
and took refuge at the monastery. There his intellectual gifts
brought him a rapid ascent. Elected bishop by acclamation, he
resolved to build a church worthy of the See, and did so. The
N facade has carved portraits of the donors, Prince Ashot, his
wife Shusan, Grigor Supan of Gegharkunik, and Prince Dzagik.
There are scant remains of the original 10th c. frescos on the

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 99

inside N wall. The S. Grigor church of 1295 adjoins. In the

courtyard is an octagonal pillar 8 m high which, by pious
myth, can be rocked backed and forth at the touch of a hand.
In 1830, Smith and Dwight found two bishops, ten vardapets,
and two deacons, supervising a diocese of 74 villages and 62
priests. In the Russo-Persian war, the monastery had been
pillaged, the bishop tortured and carried off to Tabriz. Tatev
remained an active monastery in the 19th c, though the Russians
stripped its archbishop of metropolitan status in 1837, and
removed to Ejmiatsin its remaining 140 manuscripts in 1912.
Times got worse in the Soviet period. The earthquake of 1931
did considerable damage, some of which has recently been
repaired. The crane still stands.
In the gorge below Tatev is Harants Anapat, a walled
subsidiary monastery with a 17th c church. A difficult dirt
road, requiring good ground clearance, continues S from Tatev
through beautiful wooded country. The first fork right leads
to Svarants (336 p), with a 17th c. church and one km south
the sparse ruins of Tsuraberd, a ruined fortress/village that
earned a brief historical mention for a long rebellion against
its donation in 906 to the Tatev monastery. Tsuravank, a
monastery that copied manuscripts during the 10-17th c., is
thought to be nearby. Staying left, the road then passes turns
for Tandzatap (102 p, 17th c. S. Minas church), Kashuni (30 p,
formerly Maldash), and Aghvani (102 p), with Iron Age burials
and a 17th c. church. Tandzaver (225 p) has a 16th c. S.
Stepanos church and a ruined medieval fort, and Bronze Age
tomb fields. Then follow a cluster of villages on the Achanan
river and its tributaries: Verev Khotanan (294 p) has W of it
the 10-14th c. Ghazarants hamlet with a S. Astvatsatsin church;
Tavros (93 p) used to be the Azeri village of Dovrus; Nerkin
Khotanan (100 p, S. Astvatsatsin church of 17-19th c.);
Gharatgha (0 p) 17th c. Horomants church nearby; Okhtar (100 p)
10th c church; Dzorastan (117 p) medieval fort, 17th c. church;
Shrvenants (72 p) 10-11th c. church; Norashenik (161 p) 17th c.
church; Antarashat (129 p, till 1945 Tortni, by which name
Stepanos Orbelian lists it) has a S. Hripsime church of the
10th c. in the village; Arajadzor (197 p) has the Melik-
Stepanian family tomb in village; 2 km SE is ancient cemetery.
Achanan (150 p, formerly Khalaj) has a church. The road joins
up with the main Kapan-Goris road just E of Kapan.
South to Kapan (Map L)
Going S. on the main road from Goris to Kapan, the road rises
from the village and hydroelectric station of Vorotan (264 p)
in the gorge (restaurant). A kilometer or two beyond the
summit, a signposted road leads W to Bardzravan (171 p, till
1940 Eritsatumb). At 3.1 km from the turnoff, a paved road
(faded white sign) leads right to a little wooded promontory

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 100

on which stand the remains of Bgheno Noravank, with a small

reconstructed church of 1062. The ruins of this church were
rediscovered in the 1920s by Axel Bakunts, the writer from
Goris, during one of his wanderings as agronomist. The modern
village of Bardzravan, moved after the original village was
destroyed in the 1931 earthquake, has a S. Astvatsatsin church
of 1870. Two km S on the slope toward the Vorotan river is
Karkopi S. Minas church of the 17th c.
The main S. road follows the border to Shurnukh (142 p,
founded 1930). S of Shurnukh a road runs W to Katar, formerly
Aghbulagh, with ruined Kalandat castle. Further S is Davit-Bek
(811 p, till 1949 Zeyva). This village on the Kashunik river
has an old bridge, a 10th c. ruined grave monument E and the
Takh church 3 km E. Zeyva was a Muslim stronghold besieged by
the forces of David Bek in 1722. After two days of vain
attacks, the redoubtable warrior priest Ter Avetis infiltrated
and opened the path for the fort to be stormed and its
garrison slaughtered. (When the war ended, Ter-Avetis made the
pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was ultimately forgiven his
unpriestly bellicosity.) East of the road, Kaghnut (118 p,
till 1949 Moghes) has a modern hermitage. Artsvanik (704 p)
dates to the 6th c. Some 3 km NE is Yeritsavank, a 6th c. church
and pilgrimage site named after Yeritsuk, a mid-6th c. bishop
of Syunik; 1 km W is a small 9th c. church, with 11th c.
khachkars. Further W are ruins of a medieval structure, the
so-called Aghravi Tapan (“Crow’s Ark”), Chknavori ("hermit")
shrine, and ruins of a 4th-1st c. BC fortress. There is a
village tree thought to be 500 years old. The melik
(chieftain) of the village, Melik-Frangyul, is fabled for
betraying his kinsmen by going over with his troops to the
Turks in the middle of one of Davit Bek's crucial battles.
From Artsvanik a road goes NW to Chapni (126 p), a former
mining site, Sevakar (137 p), with 10-17th c. churches, and
Yegheg (194 p, formerly Shabadin, ruins of 10-13th c. churches
nearby). East of the road is Vardavank (114 p, formerly Verin
Gyodaklu)
Kapan (34656 p, till 1991 Ghapan, originally Maden - "mineral"
in Turkish) is the marz capital, a once bustling mining town
built originally with French financing in the late 19th c. It
boasts a small private hotel/restaurant, the Darist, on Aram
Manukyan St. 1A facing the river (telephone 085-62662) in
addition to the crumbling state-owned high-rise hotel on the
main square (both on S bank of the river -- hot water in
certain rooms). The local museum, on Shahumian street 500
meters E of the square, has a modest collection of local
antiquities and folklore. On the W edge of Kapan, on a hill S
of the Voghji river above the military base, sit the ruins of
Halidzor fortress (39 13.09N x 046 21.12E), with church

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 101

remains within. Built in the 17th c. as a nunnery, it became

the headquarters of Davit Bek, the famous early 18th c. freedom
fighter. He died there of illness in 1728, and is by repute
buried in the cemetery outside the castle. On the NE edge of
town is a 17th c. church in the district called Kavard. Mt.
Khustup', which rises to 3200 m S of Kapan, has on its slopes
somewhere beyond the village of Vachagan (5 km SW of town) the
spring called Hats'i Aghbyur, destination of a local
pilgrimage to a reputed holy man's tomb each year on July 8.
Somewhere about 5 km NW of Kapan is the former village of
Achakhlu with the 10-13th c. Ashaghui Vank. Apparently in the
same area is the former village of Bashkend, with a Greek
church and ruins of the Achanan castle.
The Wars of Davit Bek: Preserved in Armenian (with French
translation by M. Brosset) is "The Excellent History of Davit
Bek," allegedly written by or at the behest of Stepanos
Shahumian, scion of a local noble family and instigator of
Davit Bek's insurrection (and possibly an ancestor of Stepan
Shahumian, chief of the Baku Commissars). In 1722, when the
Persian khans were distracted by dynastic and other troubles
(i.e., Afghans on the move), Stepanos Shahumian applied to
King Vakhtang of Georgia (aka Hussein Qoli-Khan, a Persian
vassal but fairly autonomous) for a war leader to defend
"Yotnaberd" ("Seven Castles"), the Kapan region, against the
ongoing depredations. Davit Bek, descendant of an ancient
Syunik princely family, answered the call, descending on the
region with 400 colleagues. After quick early success in
routing the Karachorlu and Jevanshir nomads and pillaging the
Muslim village of Kurtlar, they persuaded various influential
local leaders, such as Melik Pharsadan of Bekh (now a suburb
of Kapan) to join the cause. The local sultan Bathali and
increasingly large Muslim armies marched against Davit Bek,
but suffered horrific defeats at the hands of their
outnumbered foe. Davit Bek and his allies destroyed the Turkic
villages of Kapan and Meghri districts, slaughtering the
Muslim population and loading the plunder on camels.
In 1727, however, the Ottoman army invaded Syunik after
wresting Erivan from the Persians the previous year. Most of
David Bek's supporters prudently slipped away, but, besieged
with 12 priests, three bishops, and 300 men in Halidzor
castle, he manfully resisted an army said to be 70,000 men
strong. When the end seemed near, the assembled clergy invoked
St. Minas and the defenders launched a suicidal attack. The
Ottoman forces panicked and fled, leaving (according to
legend) 12,000 dead on the field. This miracle persuaded Davit
Bek that God intended him to expel the Ottomans from Kapan. He
made an alliance with the Persian armies across the Arax.
Unfortunately, the alliance was short-lived. With new Ottoman

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 102

armies on the warpath, David Bek died of disease in his

castle. His chief lieutenant and successor, Mkhitar Sparapet,
was murdered by local villagers. The rebellion faded away, but
lent (at least for local purposes) the name of Davit Bek to
every castle in the vicinity.
East of Kapan (Map M)
Going E past the airport from Kapan, take the right fork in
Syunik (796 p). The straight road leads through a little
projection of Azerbaijan, the village of Seyidlar, to reach
Agarak (176 p, Ohana Church of 19th c., khachkars). A newer
road N bypasses the salient to reach Khdrants (70 p, formerly
Sirkatas), with a church of 1892 and, 2 km E, Chorekdrni Vank.
The one standing church, with Russian-style onion dome,
commands an excellent view. Uzhanis (138 p) has 2 km NE in the
hamlet of Old Uzhanis a church built in 1629 by Grigor Ustan,
and a 12-13th c. funerary monument. Yeghvard (274 p) has an
Astvatsatsin church of 1700. Nine km E in “Shushan’s field” in
1725 took place a battle between Davit Bek and Fathali Khan,
won by the former. Near the village is the White Spring Cross
(Spitak Aghbyuri Khach) church with 10-19th c. khachkars and
remains of a medieval market.
The Shikahogh Reserve (Map M)
A beautiful drive from Kapan is S toward Shikahogh and the
gorge of the Tsav river. Driving E from downtown Kapan, turn
right after the short road tunnel. Cross under the tracks,
then up. Keep left (right fork goes to Geghanush, 267 p with
two churches, one of the 15-16th c.). The road runs along the
state border with Azerbaijan, perhaps occasionally crossing
it. First village is Chakaten (177 p), with a 10th c. church, a
shrine, and a 16/17th c. bridge. Shikahogh (274 p) has 17-18th
c. churches, Chalcolithic through Iron Age tombs, and a 19th c.
bridge. Srashen (105 p) has 2 km W a 17th c. S. Hripsime
church. A few km after Srashen the road forks, the left branch
descending into the floodplain of the Tsav river at Nerkin
Hand (110 p). Here along the river is a grove of plane trees*
(Platanus orientalis), sacred to the ancient Armenians, since
1958 the “Platan” State Reservation. Tsav (148 p) is located
on a picturesque part of the Tsav river. It has a church and,
S of the river on a crag upstream from the village, a modest
medieval Aghjkaberd, “Maiden Castle.” Somewhere nearby is
another fortress, Ghazaghan. The mountains on either side of
the Tsav and Shikahogh river, with forests of oak and
hornbeam, are included in the 100 sq. km. Shikahogh State
Reserve. At the end of the road, Shishkert has 17-18th c.
churches. Beyond Shishkert is said to be the beautiful
M'dnadzor canyon, shrouded in perpetual twilight because of
the N-S orientation of the narrow canyon walls.
West toward K'ajaran -- Vahanavank (Map L, M)

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 103

The main road W from Kapan runs along the striking gorge of
the Voghji river. After about 6 km, near the village of
Shharjik, a paved road on the left angles down across the
river, then runs back SE to the monastery of Vahanavank* (39
13.09N x 046 21.12E) hidden in a fold of the mountain. This
was founded in 911 by Vahan, son of Prince Gagik of Kapan, who
(as Stepanos Orbelian reports) took on a monk's robe and
lifestyle to cure himself of demonic possession. Gathering 100
like-minded clerics, he built the original S. Grigor
Lusavorich church, and was buried near the door. His equally
royal nephew, also Vahan, was educated at Vahanavank and rose
to be Bishop of Syunik and then Katholikos. The monastery
became the religious center of the kings of Syunik in the 11th
c. Queen Shahandukht built the Astvatsatsin church as a burial
site for her and her relatives. The site is lovely, the ruins
evocative, and a small team led by Academician Grigor
Grigorian is attempting to restore as much as possible. SE of
Vahanavank is a large tomb field of the end of the 2nd
millennium BC. The next turnoff leads to a sanatorium/summer
camp and a rather snazzy guesthouse belonging to the Marzpet’s
office. There is allegedly excellent rock-climbing nearby. The
former village of Musallam has a 13th c. bridge on the Geghi
river and an 11-13th c. church.
Just west of the sanatorium turnoff, a stone rampart with a
couple of semi-circular towers on the north edge of the main
road signals that an impressive local castle is nearby. The
little hamlet (restaurant signposted) is now officially known
as Andokavan, formerly the dormitory village of Davit Bek,
whence a steep and muddy goat track leads up to the so-called
Baghaberd* or David Bek’s castle (39 12.84N x 046 16.68E)
perched on a crag that dominates the gorge from the north. A
strong curtain wall and several towers are preserved, and the
view is worth the slippery climb. If this is indeed the
historical Baghaberd, its legendary past, preserved in
Stepanos Orbelian’s history of Syunik, starts in the middle of
the 4th century AD. After Prince Andovk treacherously
plundered a Sasanian city (see Shaghat above), he holed up in
Baghaberd with a large supply of provisions while his unhappy
citizens fled. Andovk defeated three of Shapur II’s armies,
rolling rocks down on them, and then slipped away to
Constantinople, where the emperor Theodosios showered him with
honors.
Baghaberd became the last capital of the hard-pressed Syunik
kingdom in the 12th c. It was captured in 1170 by the Seljuk
Turks. Stepanos Orbelian mourned the catastrophe as worse than
the sack of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. All the treasures of
the Syunik monasteries had been stored there – relics, gold
crosses, church silver, and more than ten thousand bibles and

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 104

church manuscripts – and they were scattered to the four

winds.
A close reading of Orbelian’s description tends to support the
view of local historian Robert Grigorian, director of the
Lernadzor village school a few km further west, that the
castle above Andokavan is too recent (10th c or later), on the
wrong side of the Voghji river, and not inaccessible enough to
be the castle that so long withstood the Persians and Turks.
He would place Baghraberd at another ruined fortress deep in
the mountains SE of Andokavan.
The small villages of the Voghji and Geghi river valleys were
largely Azerbaijani in population until 1988. The Azerbaijanis
are gone, but their gutted house walls remain. There has been
some resettlement by local farmers and refugees from Baku. One
road goes N to the hamlet of Verin Giratagh. Another road goes
up the Geghi river, bypassing the former hamlet of Zeyva (now
Barikavan, inhabited by refugees) and a substantial earth dam,
whose reservoir was never filled. The village of Geghi (196 p)
has, above the town hall and on the opposite bank of the
stream, the apse of a ruined 10th c. church. Locals are unaware
of a reported local ruined fortress nearby. Kahurt (formerly
Kyurut) has castle remains S. The road forks in the village of
Chaykend (officially Getishen), with a bad track bearing left
to the tiny hamlet of Kard. Under the altar of the ruined Kard
church (17th c.?) is supposed to flow a spring of mineral
water. Payahan hamlet on the main fork has two permanent
residents, while Ajibaj at the end of the road has a 17th c.
church. A dirt road leading S follows a stream to Avsarlu,
which has on the opposite bank a 14th c. settlement and church.
The strategic value of the Voghji river gorge is symbolized by
the statue, on a rock above the river, of a bear holding in
its mouth a ring of (now missing) keys. In November 1919,
regular and irregular troops from then-independent Azerbaijan
attempted to seize Zangezur and create a physical link between
Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. Garegin Nzhdeh (see Vayots Dzor)
rallied the Armenian partisans on the hills above K'ajaran,
rolling barrels full of gunpowder and copper scrap into the
Azeri stronghold and ultimately routing them. Lernadzor (430
p, till the 1920s Kyurdikend) is endowed with a makeshift but
worthy historical museum thanks to its school principal
Grigorian. Exhibits include Iron Age weapons, ancient pottery,
late medieval vessels, and artifacts from Lernadzor’s Soviet
glory as a collective farm. The village boasts an 18th c.
three-aisled S. Astvatsatsin basilica on the hill above.
Across the river is a ruined S. Gevorg katoghike church of the
6th c. The once-important village of Okhchi would have been
nearby.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 105

The 20th c. mining town of Kajaran (7976 p, once Gejevan.) and

(just beyond) village of Kajarants (172 p) are famous for the
massive copper-molybdenum mine, which is still the economic
mainstay of the whole region. It is impressive to drive up to
the mine and see the trucks, tiny in comparison to the pit,
dumping ore into an elaborate system of conveyers. The ore
receives initial processing in K'ajaran but must be exported
for final conversion to metal. The waste rock is piped a
discreet distance away, filling various stream valleys with
dirt on which only the most impervious weeds grow. Pollution
of the Voghji river is an unsolved problem.
South to Meghri (Map L)
Turning left and crossing the bridge in K'ajaran, the road
winds up to the Tashtun Pass at 2483 m. Note that even in
August the fog can settle in, making the pass hazardous to the
lines of Iranian trucks and those in their way. The road
descends to follow the Meghri River. The first turnoff right,
some 19 km after K'ajaran, leads to Tashtun (166 p) on the
right, with a 17th c. domed basilica of S. Stepanos; and Lichk
(209 p), with two 17th c. bridges on the Meghri river, a 17th c.
S. Karapet church, and 17th c. Dzvaravank by the village. On
the Arevik river S of Lichk is a 17th c. bridge Four km S, a
road NE leads to Vank (67 p), with a 17th c. church and bridge,
and Kaler, with a 17th c. Astvatsatsin church. From there a
jeep track leads over the mountain to Shishkert and Tsav.
The main road descends through the hamlets of Tkhkut,
(formerly Maralzami), with 17th c. church, Aygedzor, and
Vardanidzor (194 p). At Lehvaz (537 p, tomb field nearby), a
road angles NW to Vahravar (68 p, formerly Azeri) with a S.
Gevorg church in the village and 17th c. Karmravank church just
E. Under the altar platform is a secret storage area. Gudemnis
(64 p) has a 17th c. Astvatsatsin church, and Kakavaberd ruins
nearby; Kuris (109 p, small 17th c. S. Sargis church N) and
Karchevan (340 p, 12th c. S. Astvatsatsin church, Hellenistic
graves, medieval cemetery, castle traces nearby). Karchevan is
famous for the impenetrable dialect of its inhabitants. It was
bought and given to Tatev monastery by King Smbat Bagratuni
(890-914). Somewhere in this general area in the mountains W
of the Meghri river is a ruined mosque once a significant
Muslim pilgrimage site.
Between Karchevan and Agarak (176 p, founded 1949) the dirt
road passes along the edge of a huge open-pit copper-
molybdenum mine, currently closed as uneconomical. From
Agarak, the road descends to the Iranian border. The border-
crossing bridge and new customs point is nearby, with long
lines of trucks generally waiting for some mysterious
paperwork to arrive from somewhere. In the former village of
Agarak close by are two 17th c. churches, Aknakhach and S.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 106

Amenaprkich Vank. The scenery along the Arax river is striking

-- jagged, arid gorges juxtaposed with verdant river valleys.
The road runs along the border fence east, passing the Meghri
turnoff and then (12 km) the turn for Alvank (291 p, formerly
the Azeri village of Aldara). A dirt road seems to run NNW
from Alvank toward the abandoned villages of Malyev, Upper
Malyev, and Apges in the Malev river gorge S of 3024 m. Mt.
Cknavor, with five churches of the 14-17th centuries in the
area: “Sevadan Kujert”, Amenaprkich in Malyev, S. Hakop
(Upper Malyev), Apkes, and Tos.
The road E along the border deteriorates badly as one goes E
to the turn for Shvanidzor (338 p), with a 17th or 18th c.
aqueduct, builder unknown, of considerable engineering
interest. Last village before the road enters Azerbaijani
territory is Nurnadzor (150 p), better known as Nyuvadi). This
is a heavily militarized area. Taking pictures of the Iranian
border is frowned upon, and film may be confiscated.
The town of Meghri (4514 p) boasts a dilapidated hotel, lots
of places for thirsty truckers to buy vodka for the road, and
amazing lush fruits and vegetables. The figs are particularly
famous. The setting is striking, with green gardens in the
rocky desert. There is a fortress on the hills on the N and E
of town, known from the 10th century but rebuilt in the early
18th c. by Davit Bek. It had four 2-story circular towers and
two rectangular, but no circuit wall between them. This was
the only Armenian fortress specifically designed for firearms.
In 1727, 400 of Davit Bek’s men held off many times their
number of Turkish troops for 5 days, till relief troops
arrived. In the Mets Tagh district below the fortress is a 17th
c. Astvatsatsin church with interesting 19th c. wall paintings.
In the Pokr Tagh district SW is a 17th c. S. Sargis basilica
church, with battered 17th c. frescoes. Also in the SW part of
town up the slope is Meghru Vank with a S. Hovhannes church
(15-17th c.). From the roof there is an excellent view of the
entire district. This area has crumbling remains of 18-19th c.
houses, giving a taste of what local tradition sacrificed to
Soviet charmlessness.

EXPLORING TAVUSH
Tavush Marz in the northeastern corner of Armenia offers a wonderful range
of mountain and forest scenery sprinkled with beautifully sited historic
monasteries. Dilijan, nearest point of entry to the Marz, is only 90
minutes from Yerevan by good car via Lake Sevan, and is probably the best
place to stay for an extended exploration, though there are hotels in
Ijevan, Berd and Noyemberian as well. The best-known destinations are
Haghartsin, Goshavank, and Makaravank, but a series of other remote sites,
particularly the cluster of monasteries in the forest near

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 107

Kirants/Acharkut, repay with wild scenery, warm village hospitality, and

adventure the difficulty of reaching them. The visit lends itself to a
formidable driving circuit, following the border to Noyemberian in the N
and returning via Akhtala, Haghpat, Sanahin, and the main Georgia-Vanadzor
road. The mountain road from Chambarak to Berd is as starkly beautiful as
any in the Mediterranean, and a splendid track traverses high summer
pastures from Enokavan to Noyemberian.
Historically, the Tavush region came sometimes under Georgian and sometimes
Armenian rulers. Before Armenia’s short-lived independence in 1918-20,
Tavush was part of the Yelizavetpol (now Ganja in Azerbaijan) district.
Armenia and Georgia fought a short, sharp war in 1919 to establish what
became the Soviet-era border, whereas the border with Azerbaijan was
dictated by geography and ethnography -- Armenia inherited the hills,
Azerbaijan the broad river valleys of the Kura and its tributaries. Where
the rivers intruded into the hills, two Azerbaijani enclaves were captured
in the 1988-94 hostilities.
Dilijan
Dilijan (13216 registered voters), was a major summer resort in Soviet
times, blessed with a cool, moist climate, even in summer, and pleasant
evergreen forests protected, in principle, by a large nature reserve that
wraps around the town and extends along the SW bank of the Getik river.
There are hotels, pensionats, and bed & breakfasts of various descriptions,
most notably the “Lernayin Hayastan” resort on the ridge S of town,
formerly a spa for Soviet nomenklatura families, now controlled by the
Defense Ministry but often available for tourists or seminars. There is an
ethnographic museum and a row of early 20th c. houses now serving as a
museum. Dilijan is rich in prehistoric tombs, including the Golovino Early
Iron Age site 3 km on the Sevan road, and Redkin Lager Iron Age site 3 km
along the Ijevan road on the Aghstev river.
West of Dilijan -- Jukhtak Vank (Map N)
From the main Dilijan roundabout 3.2 km W of Dilijan on the Vanadzor (upper
left) road, the N fork of a small roundabout leads under the orange
railroad bridge about 2.7 km to the ornate iron gates of the Dilijan
mineral water factory (less salty than Jermuk, this recently revived table
water was in early 1999 trying to recapture a share of the Yerevan bottled
water market). A dirt road (impassible to cars due to landslides) leads up
to the right to (10 minutes on foot) Jukhtak Vank*, nestled in an
attractive forest grove with picnic tables. The near church, St. Grigor,
was built probably in the 11th or 12th c. The dome disappeared long ago,
and the foundation and walls have been brutally reinforced with concrete
against the collapsing soft stone below. The W church, S. Astvatsatsin,
has this inscription: “In the year 1201, in the Amirdom of Lasha and the
Khanate of (missing), I Hayrapet, abbot of S. Petros Monastery, built S.
Astvatsatsin with the hope that every sunrise in both vestibules one mass
will be offered for me and one for my brother Shmavon, and in all the
churches for my parents.” Khachkars. On the wooded slope somewhere
opposite is Matosavank monastery. The small church, dedicated to S.
Astvatsatsin of Pghndzahank and dated 1247, was built under Avag Zakarian,
son of Ivane, after he had pledged submission to the Mongols and become
Georgian/Armenian military leader for Mangu Khan, grandson of the great
Genghis.
Continuing W on the potholed but adequate former traffic artery paralleling
the Aghstev river and railroad line, one soon enters Lori Marz bound for
Vanadzor and Gyumri.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 108

East From Dilijan -- Haghartsin, Goshavank (Map N)

Taking the road E from Dilijan, one reaches in 6.7 km the turn-off right
(sign-posted in Armenian) for Parz Lich (“Clear Lake”). Cross the bridge
over the Aghstev, bearing W, then take the left fork, which winds through
about 8 km of forest to end at a modest green lake, banks slightly muddy
(beware ringworm) but excellent for a picnic and forest hikes in a quiet,
non-typical setting.
Continuing E on the Ijevan road another 0.8 km, an unmarked paved road
ascends steeply left under the railroad tracks near the village of Teghut
(782 v) and into a lovely wooded stream valley with picnic areas,
culminating in Haghartsin Monastery**, one of Armenia’s most evocative.
After passing the decaying remains of an ill-advised cable car, note
funerary shrines with khachkars. Reaching the monastery complex proper,
first building on the left is the large vaulted dining room of 1248, one of
only two such in Armenia (the other at Haghpat), beyond which is a ruined
service building with working oven. The gavit (end of 12th c) was built at
the behest of Ivane Zakarian against the small domed 10th c. church of S.
Grigor. The small S. Stepanos church of 1244 is behind. S. Astvatatsin
church on the right, built or rebuilt in 1281, has high on the outside of
the E wall a donation relief sculture showing the Zakarian brothers. Though
the churches are locked, a local caretaker has the keys. Near contemporary
Kirakos Gandzaketsi (tr. R. Bedrosian) had warm praise for:
"the blessed vardapet Khachatur Taronatsi, director of the holy
congregation of Haghartsin, a holy, virtuous man renowned for his
learning, especially for his musical knowledge. He made the holy
congregation which he directed sparkle; prior to his coming it was
desolate and withered. The king of the Georgians, Giorgi, Tamar's
father, especially esteemed Khachatur; and he gave to the church,
under his own signature, two villages, Abasadzor and Tandzut, and a
vineyard in Mijnashen. And by all the saints he placed a curse on
anyone who dared to shore these properties from the monastery. ...
[Khachatur] passed to Christ and is buried on the western side of the
church."

There is an ancient nut tree just E of the Astvatsatsin, shading a fine

view point, and various remains of graves, including “royal” graves of the
Bagratuni family S of the S. Grigor church. Admire the fine families of

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 109

pigs rooting on the surrounding hillside. Five km N of Teghut were found

and taken to the museum two Aramaic inscriptions of Artashes I (189-160
BC).
Continuing E on the main road, first village is Haghartsin (2316 v, until
recently called Kuybishev after the famous Bolshevik, till 1940 Zarkhej).
At 9.8 m (15.8 km) is the turnoff right (S) toward Gosh and
Chambarak/Krasnosyelsk. Take the first right up to Goshavank* or Nor Getik
Vank in the village of Gosh (730 v). The monastery was founded in 1188 by
the great Armenian cleric Mkhitar Gosh (died 1213) with the help of Prince
Ivane Zakarian as replacement for Old Getik Vank (SW near Martuni in
Gegharkunik, on the Jivikhlu road), which was destroyed by earthquake.
Mkhitar is most famous for having compiled a collection of Armenian laws to
help his flock resist the imposition of Muslim Shariah law.

The monastic complex is large and well-endowed, and was for a brief period
an important center of Armenian medieval culture. The rectangular room
next to the reading room stands out from the rest of the complex by its
walls of large unworked stones. In all probability, this room is a
holdover from an early Iron Age fortress built on the site perhaps 2000
years before. The reading room itself is unusual, built in several stages,
with a chapel/bell-tower built on top in 1291. Note the intricately carved
khachkar, the famous "Aserghnagorts" ("embroidered"), standing beside the
S. Gregory church doorway, the work of Master Poghos, dated 1291. Its mate
was moved to the State History Museum in Yerevan. The Gregory the
Illuminator chapel is richly carved. There is a museum in the village,
along with alleged remnants of Mkhitar's house; his tomb church stands in
the village W of the monastery.
Kirakos Gandzaketsi, who studied here in the 13th c, described Nor Getik
and its benefactors (tr. R. Bedrosian):
The marvelous vardapet and his monks then began work on the
construction of a monastery and church in the above-mentioned Tandzut
valley, by order of the great prince Ivane. They built a beautiful
wooden church which was consecrated in the name of saint Gregory...
At Nor Getik, at the head of the monastery, they also built a smaller
church in the name of Saint John the Baptist, the ordained of Christ,

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 110

the greatest fruit of womankind. Then they began on the foundation of

the glorious church built with dressed stones and [crowned] with a
heavenly dome, a marvel to the beholder. [Construction] was begun in
640 A.E. [=1191], four years after Salahadin took Jerusalem, and it
was completed in five years ... It was built by vardapet Mkhitar with
his religious community with the aid of Vakhtang Khachenatsi, lord of
Haterk and his brothers Grigor, Grigoris, Khoydan, and Vasak and
other pious princes, Dawit and Sadun (the sons of Kurd) as well as
their sister named Arzu khatun (Vakhtang Haterketsi's wife). This
woman did much to help. She and her daughters made a beautiful
curtain of the softest goats' hair as a covering for the holy altar;
it was a marvel to behold. It was dyed with variegated colors like a
piece of carving with pictures accurately drawn on it showing the
Incarnation of the Savior and other saints. It astonished those who
saw it. Beholders would bless God for giving women the knowledge of
tapestry-making and the genius of embroidery, as is said in Job, for
it was no less than the altar ornaments Beseliel and Eghiab fashioned
[Exodus 36.1]; nor is it bold to say so, for the same spirit moved
them both. Not only did the woman make a curtain for this church at
Getik, but for other churches as well, Haghpat, Makaravank and
Dadivank; for she was a great lover of the Church, and very pious.
The pre-consecration festival at Getik was conducted with great
throngs of people attending. Among those present was Yovhannes, the
bishop of Haghpat, a virtuous and blessed man as well as a multitude
of priests and servitors. And they consecrated the church in the name
of the blessed Mother of God.
They also constructed a beautiful parvis of dressed stones for the
church. The great general Zakare and his brother Ivane provided much
support, for they held the princeship of the district and they so
loved the holy vardapet (for in confession, Zakare was his spiritual
son). They gave the church [extensive] land bounded by streams
[extending] from mountain to mountain, as well as a mine in
Abasadzor, and Zoradzor in the district of Bjni, and Ashawan above
the monastery. They themselves also built a village close to a small
lake of immense depth, naming the village after the lake Tzrkatsov
(for in it swam many marsh-loving, mud-loving reptiles), as well as
another smaller village below the monastery which they named
Urhelanj. They also built many other chapels in the name of the
blessed Apostles and the holy Hripsime.
Because Mkhitar loved deserts and uninhabited places, he made his
home distant from the monastery. There he built a small wooden church
in the name of the Holy Spirit. In his old age he built a church as a
mausoleum for himself above the monastery on the right. It was made
with dressed stones and lime and named for the Resurrection of
Christ. This venerable man of whom we spoke above, reached great old
age, having kept his faith. But when he saw that his bodily strength
was failing and that he was close to joining his fathers, he called
the residents of the congregation of Nor Getik who had shared with
him in all the labors of the church and monastery, and he blessed
them and his students in the name of the Lord.
Selecting one of them, named Martiros, who had studied with him and
was his intimate, Mkhitar appointed him as their director. Martiros
was a youth but perfected in learning, a man mellifluous in the songs
of worship, a great reader and a speedy writer. Mkhitar commanded him
to direct them. And he wrote a will to the great hazarapet Ivane,
Zakare's brother, and entrusted to him the monastery and its

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 111

director. Then he himself, white-haired and ripe in age, passed from

this world to Christ.
The director of the monastery, Martiros, together with the
congregation handsomely saw to the proper requirements for the
spiritual and physical burial of Mkhitar. They laid him to rest
before the door of the smaller church which stands above the
monastery on the west side. And to this day Mkhitar's grave aids
those in pain who take refuge in his prayers, in faith; and people
always take soil from that place to cure sick people and animals, for
God glorifies those that glorify Him, in life and in death.
Continuing S of Gosh toward Chambarak/Krasnosyelsk on a worsening road, one
reaches Khachardzan (256 v, formerly the Azeri village of Polad), with a
church W of the village, and then Aghavnavank (275 v), until recently the
Azeri village of Salah, with Anapat-Astvatsatsin church of the 11-13th c.
and an early bridge on the Getik river. From Khachardzan, a rough road
goes W to Chermakavan (formerly Azeri Aghkilisa) and Geghatap (formerly
Chichakbulagh) There is a ruined 11-13th c. church nearby.
Just W of the Ijevan road N of the Gosh turn-off is Hovk (312 v),
originally Aghkikhlu?, until recently Samed Vurghun (named after the Lenin
Prize-winning Azeri poet/dramatist, 1906-1956, famed for his laconic style,
author of some fine works but also patriotic tracts such as “Partisans of
the Ukraine” and “On Reading Lenin”). Nearby are ruins of a church and
cemetery. On hills overlooking the Aghstev valley E of Hovk are at least
three ruined castles, with great confusion over their ancient and modern
names. Keep looking up, and ask the locals. On the summit of a hill E (or
perhaps W) of the Aghstev 12 km SW (or maybe 15 km W) of Ijevan is the 7-9th
c. fortress of Mantash (or maybe Karakala), one of several candidates to be
the historical Kayan Berd. This site (or maybe another one) has substantial
remains of walls and towers. If it really is Kayan Berd, it presided in
medieval times over the medieval district of Chorapor. It was probably
built in the 10th century under King Ashot Yerkat, and restored under
various masters, including Atabeg Ivane Zakarian. Besieged here by the
Mongols in 1236, Avag the son of Ivane prudently surrendered and became a
valued Mongol ally. The castle was destroyed at the end of the 14th
century during Timur Lenk's invasions. Another 4 km SW is an Aghjkaberd
(formerly Turkish Ghzghala, from the annoying early modern custom of
associating all castles with an imprisoned maiden) on a wooded hill. There
might be a ruined church and some cisterns in the fort.
The name “Ijevan” (13789 v) means “Inn,” reflecting the Tavush capital’s
previous name of Karvansara (though also Istibulagh), stopping place on an
important E-W road and also, since 1870, of the railroad. In the place
called Hamam-Jala on the bank of the Aghstev are remains of a medieval
caravansaray. On the N side of the main road at the W end of town (cannon
outside) is a small historical/ethnographic museum reopened in 1999, with a
diorama commemorating the entry of the Red Army in 1920. Ijevan has a
large (dormant?) rug factory, and wood product factories. There is a 200-
bed high-rise hotel built in 1969 on the N side of the main road. In the
SW part of town is a S. Hovhannes church. Chamber tombs near the city
hospital and a late bronze age cemetery on the left bank of river attest
early occupation of the site. Crossing the Aghstev river by the bridge on
the W end of town, a right turn leads to Gandzakar (2000 v, till 1978
Aghdan) with S. Gevorg church, a S. Kiraki chapel of 1286, Budur cyclopean
fort E atop Budur mountain, with two 12-13th c. churches with khachkars in
the forest nearby. To the W of upper Gandzakar is the ruined medieval Tanik
fort. There is supposed to be a ruined “Ashot Yerkat” fort 6 km SW.
However, another source says the Ashot Yerkat fort is 7 km W of Ijevan.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 112

From Gandzakar the road winds up a narrow set of unpaved switchbacks toward
Berd and the Shamsadin region.
The Shamsadin District -- Khoranashat, Varagavank (Map O)
A remote and beautiful part of Armenia along the NE border with Azerbaijan,
the former Shamsadin district is comprised of three deep river valleys, the
Hakhum, Tavush, and Khndzorut, all running N to the Kura in Azerbaijan from
the Miapor mountain range, with high ridges in between. The region took
its name (Arabic “sun of the faith”) from the Turkic Shamsh-od-Dinlu tribe,
its predominant occupants in early modern times. At the end of the 18th
c., this region was claimed both by the Kingdom of Georgia and by Javad
Khan of Ganja. Russia cheerfully espoused the Georgian claim and occupied
the district (which they called Shamshadil) in 1801, despite occasional
raids by Javad Khan's forces. A few decades later, having meanwhile on
January 2, 1804 stormed the Ganja fortress and killed the Khan, the
Russians conceded to geography and transferred the district back to
Ganja/Yelizavetpol gubernia. Though part of Kazakh uezd, Shamsadin ended
up in Armenia in 1919. The predominant population in the early 19th
century was nomadic, though a Russian survey of 1804 listed 42 Muslim
villages (some now in Azerbaijan) and two Armenian (Choratan and Krzen,
with 227 people), paying taxes to the chief of the Ayrumlu tribe. Locals
say Shamsadin has been entirely Armenian since the 1950s or before. The
region has a collection of interesting Armenian monasteries, mostly remote
and difficult of access. Care should be exercised in areas near the
Azerbaijan border, since occasional firing incidents occur.
There are three access roads into the region. First is a spectacular
mountain road** that leaves from the NW edge of Ttujur, just beyond
Chambarak/Krasnosyelsk, and follows the ridge between the Hayrum and Tavush
rivers to Navur. Second is a road that goes E from the N extremity of the
Ijevan-Kazakh road, following the Azerbaijani border. Third, shortest
looking on the map but the most difficult, is a poor dirt road that
switchbacks up from the S edge of Ijevan, through Ganzakar and thence to
Itsakar and Berd.
From Krasnosyelsk/Chambarak E of Lake Sevan, the road NW along the Getik
river passes Ttujur and (8.4 km from the Krasnosyelsk junction) turns back
to the right on a smooth, partly asphalted road. From this turn-off, the
road reaches the marz boundary/watershed at 5.8 km, and then a series of
hamlets for pasturing animals during the summer. At 28.5 km is a modern
monument from 1988, with picnic tables made from old millstones and an
ornamental fortress inscribed “Eternal is my paternal earth.” At 41.3 km is
an impressive equestrian statue (1993?) of General Andranik facing fiercely
toward Azerbaijan, with a small child? clutched to his chest. Beside this
is the well-tended grave of Mushegh “Papo” Asrian, commander of the Navur
self-defense forces, killed in 1990 in an auto accident near Hrazdan (or
else, by a more poetic narrative, sacrificed in Karabakh). At 42 km is the
intersection with the Itsakar-Berd road. Turning left one soon reaches the
little village of Itsakar (252 v) on the road back to Ijevan. Turning
right, one enters Navur, (800 v), with a series of ruined 3rd-1st millennium
forts: Tandzut fort, 1st millennium BC (5 km S); Berdi Glukh fort, early
1st mill. BC (S edge of town); Kari Glukh cyclopean fort; Srtner fort, 6-4th
c. BC (small hill 6 km W); Dashti Berd cyclopean fort (3km SW) has
substantial wall remains.
Turning N in Navur, an adequate dirt road leads to Chinchin, (587 v). The
13th c. (or maybe 1151) Kaptavank monastery lies W of the road, only about 1
km N of Navur but a stiff hike over the ridge. Three km W of Chinchin,

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 113

looking down on the Hakhum river valley, is the 6-4th c. cyclopean fortress
of Berdakar.
The road from Navur to Berd passes a modest chapel on the right of the
road. Berd (8075 v, formerly Tovuzghala on the Tavush river has a hotel
and a school founded in 1871. To reach the sketchy but picturesque walls
of Tavush Fort (9-10th c. or 10-13th), for which the city is named, take the
right fork at the entrance to town, cross the river and head up and left;
there are also traces of cyclopean walls in the central park, a cemetery of
the 5-4th c. BC, and a small museum. Some 3-4 km E are S. Sargis and S.
Nshan shrines.
Beyond Berd’s castle, the road continues to Verin Karmiraghbyur (1346 v),
founded in 1860, but with S. Hovhannes church of 1701. Below the village,
the right fork leads to the large village of Artsvaberd (2314 v, formerly
Ghighi or Gharaghaya -- restaurant but no hotel, khachkars in village. On
the NW edge of the village is a Late Bronze Age tomb field. Reportedly, S.
Zoravar church is 3 km W on the edge of a gorge. Three km NW are remains
of Mamaslu cyclopean fortress. One km S is an important Late Bronze/Early
Iron Age tomb field of Horjin Horer. W are Sprikghalacha fortress remains.
From Artsvaberd, the road descends to the Khndzorut River. Turning right
on the bumpy dirt road leads up the river to a military post at a
reservoir. Reportedly, a bad jeep track continues SW beyond the roadblock
through walnut groves, ultimately to join the Krasnosyelsk road. Turning
left toward Aigezdor, after 2.5 km a rough dirt track drops right across
the Khndzorut to follow the Akhinja (or Hakhinja) tributary upstream to a
little picnic area with a 1986 monument to General Andranik and the Fedayi.
The track presumably continues to Azerbaijan, not recommended at this time.
Continuing NE along the Khndzorut, one reaches Aigedzor, (1828 v, until
1939 Ghulali) has S. Hripsime Church of the 5-6th c. in the village below
the school. NE of the village atop the mountain named for Salkari Vank is
a 6-4th c. fortress. There are also remains of Yereg Vank Berd medieval
fortress, also called Kzkalasi, a refuge during various medieval invasions.
Continuing N, one reaches the village of Chinari (1104 v), visible from
which to the NE is Khoranashat Vank* of 1211-20, with a gavit of 1222.
Because of occasional sniping incidents, it is advisable to check with
villagers before visiting the monastery (bear right through the village,
then follow the dirt road left and up). Per Dr. Robert Bedrosian, the 13th
century Kirakos Gandaketsi studied here under one of Mkhitar Gosh's
students, the historian Yovhannes Vanakan (d. 1251). "When the Khwarazmian
sultan Jalal al-Din ravaged Xoranashat in 1225, Vanakan fled with his
students to a nearby cave, near the village of Lorut, south of Tawush. He
continued teaching there until 1236 when a Mongol army under Molar-noyin
occupied Tawush. Both Vanakan and Kirakos were taken captive by the Mongols
and kept as secretaries for several months. Eventually, Vanakan was
ransomed by the Christians of Gag for eighty dahekans, and Kirakos escaped
secretly the same night.". In the vicinity of Chinari there are reportedly
shrines of the 13-17th c., and 1st millenium BC graves.
From Artsvaberd, a road leads N to Choratan (736 v), with S. Hripsime
church of 1683 and a 17th c. shrine. From there, a road NW leads to
Norashen (1174 v), reportedly with a museum; Soviet biologist A. Avagian
was born here; on the S end of Norashen is a cyclopean fort call Pilor Pat.
5 km SW on the left of road leading to mountains is a ruined fort of 5-4th
c. BC, source of rich finds during excavation. North toward the border is
Mosesgegh (1683 v), with unspecified churches, shrines, and caves nearby.
The road NW to Aigepar (425 v, founded in 1937, until 1967 “the town
connected to the fermentation factory”) and Nerkin Karmiraghbyur (706 v,

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 114

church of 16-19th c., ruins of Shenategh, khachkars of S. Sargis and S.

Khach) passes dangerously close to the border.
Returning to the Berd roundabout, the main road N leads (left fork) to the
attractive village of Zavenavan (1188 v. until recently -- or maybe still -
- Tovuz), with an Astvatsatsin church by the road, a S. Gevorg sacred site,
the Tavush and Katsaret forts and a rock-cut grotto (vimapor karayr)
somewhere in the vicinity. Continuing, one passes on the left an unmarked
dirt road to Chinchin and then descends steeply into the valley of the
Hakhum river, and Tsaghkavan (685 v, until 1939 Veligegh) The important
Shkhmuradi Vank of the 12-13th c. with S. Astvatsatsin church built in 1181,
is west of town about 6 km up the river valley; 150 m up from the monastery
is 6-5th c. fortress called Kalkar. Some 2 km N of Kalkar and 1.5 km N of
the road to Shkhmuradi Vank is another similar fort called Sevkareri Blur.
One km NE of this fort is a third, Sevkareri Takht on the left bank of the
Hakhum River. In front of the cattle breeding farm of Tsaghkavan village
on the right bank of the river is another cyclopean fort called Baghri
Khach.
Next village E is Varagavan (476 v, till 1978 Azizlu). To reach the
charmingly sited monastery of Nor Varagavank*, with S. Astvatsatsin church
of 1237, Anapat 1198, David Ishkhan tomb/shrine 13th c, enter the village at
the cemetery, then follow the main road through the village (when in doubt,
always bear left), about 4.5 km through pleasant woods. N beyond Varagavan
and E at the intersection, Paravakar (1383 v) has shrines, khachkars, and
other minor ruins. Turning W instead, the village of Vazashen (570 v, till
1978 Aghgegh or Lala) has Karmir Kar ruined fort and churches. WNW toward
the border is the ruined 10-13th c monastery of Honut in the abandoned
village of the same name. Aigehovit (2402 v, until 1969 Uzuntala) has
Srveghi Vank of the 12-13th c. on the skyline SW of the village, with an
inscription: “In the year 1252 we Artavazd and Sargis built this church by
the hand of master Hovhannes.” There is also a S. Sargis shrine, Kotrats
Yeghtsi (“Broken church”), and an 18th c. (Persian period) guard tower on
the right bank of the Aghstev.
East of Ijevan (Map N)
Getahovit (1954 v, till 1978 Tala) and Yenokavan (376 v, till 1935 Krdevan)
lie N of the road, on either side of the Sarnajur (formerly Tala) river.
West of Getahovit is the ruined Iritsi Aghbyur medieval settlement with
church and cemetery. Yenokavan was named after early Communist Enok
Mkrtumian, who founded the first party cell in the region. On the S. edge
of Yenokavan, perched on a rock overlooking the scenic gorge, is a small
church with medieval tombstones. About a km S, down inside the gorge,
reachable only on foot, is an Astvatsatsin church of the 13th c. Some 17 km
W is the Okonakhach church. There are anciently inhabited caves in the
river valley. At the NE end of the village overlooking the gorge is the 6-
5th c. BC Astghi Blur with cyclopean walls and a huge tomb field. The main
dirt road through Yenokavan bears right and up the ridge, traversing the
starkly beautiful mountain pastures of the Ijevan Mt. Range*. This road,
passible April-November (barely) by street car, serves various yaylas
inhabited only in summer, and leads in some 66 km to the main Azatamut-
Noyemberian road just S of Noyemberian. This may be the best road to
Samsoni Vank. Eight km NW of Yenokavan on this road, atop a hill, is
Berdategh Early Armenian cyclopean fortress. Somewhere toward the
Noyemberian end of the road is a village called Gomshavar with, 2 km E in a
spot called Dondar, remains of a Bronze Age settlement.
Lusadzor (331 v) is 7 km E of Ijevan; until 1935 it was called Khavaradzor;
S and W are medieval remains with khachkars. On the W end is an Iron Age

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 115

cemetery. There is a recent church. E of the main road is the village of

Khasht'arak (1149 v, once Sahatlu), with a recent church; W and SE are
abandoned medieval settlements with khachkars. Beyond, a road continues S
to Lusahovit (235, until 1978 Tsrviz), with the Moro Dzoro (its name from
early inscriptions) or Tsrviz Vank of the 5-13th c. Atabek Ivane Zakarian
sponsored a rebuilding of the long-ruined Astvatsatsin church in 1213,
stipulating in return that regular masses for the long life of his sons
Avag and Shahnshah be celebrated till the Second Coming. According to an
inscription of 1197, Ivane's sister Nana, his "soulmate and helper," spent
time here as a nun. An earlier inscription gives a decree of King Giorgi
III of Georgia (1156-84) the father of Queen Tamar, freeing the monastery
from taxes and endowing it with land. The Tsrviz medieval settlement
nearby has khachkars. Continuing E toward the border, Aknaghbyur (352 v) -
- until 1967 Nerkin Aghdan, from 1967-70 Morut -- is left of the road.
East of the village near a spring is a huge oak tree, legendarily planted
by sparapet Vardan Mamikonian in 450 AD, used as a pilgrimage site.
Ditavan (267 v) was founded in the beginning of the 19th c., and until 1967
was called Revazlu. It has a bentonite mine. Azatamut (2168 v, till 1978
the Bentonite Combinat) is the end of the road, travel into Azerbaijan
blocked by an impromptu barricade and cautionary whistles from the locals.
A road turns S up toward Aigehovit and the Shamsadin district.
North to Noyemberian -- Makaravank, Kirants (Map N)
The Azatamut-Noyemberian road forks left (N) off the main Ijevan-Kazakh
road a few km before the Azeri border. The road, paved and in reasonably
good condition, parallels the border, and at Askipara/Voskepar cuts through
occupied Azeri territory, but is normally safe for travel. However, the
villages of Barekamavan and Shavarshavan, E of Baghanis, should probably be
avoided, as the target of occasional heavy machinegun fire. Note that
commonly available Armenian maps fail to show the accurate border.
What makes this road worth the frisson of driving through a war zone is a
cluster of medieval churches set in lovely stream valleys amid the wooded
hills W of the road. Also, those of a philosophical bent can profitably
contemplate the destroyed and looted remains of Yukari (upper) and Ashagi
(lower) Askipara, an Azerbaijani enclave and salient reduced in fierce
fighting in 1992. Cows and sheep graze among the roofless remains, a
reminder of how quickly a prosperous village of the late 20th c. can become
an archaeological site.
Almost immediately after taking the left fork toward Noyemberian, an
unsignposted paved road turns W to the village of Achajur (2518 v, once
Achasu). Continuing on the main road through the village, at the top a
muddy but passable asphalt/dirt road bears left (generally SW), winding
along about 6 km (taking the main fork each time, if in doubt go right) to
the beautifully situated hillside monastery of Makaravank*. First is a
picnic area next to an ancient spring. Passing through the gate in the
circuit wall, the main church of 1205, built by Vardan son of Prince Bazaz,
is on the right, and the gavit on the left. The facade of the gavit, which
was built with a donation from Prince Vache Vachutian in 1224, bears
sculptures of a sphinx and a lion attacking a bull. Inside the gavit, one
reaches the earliest church, of the 10th or 11th c. Outside, E of these, is
a small Astvatsatsin church built by Abbot Yovhannes in 1198 in memory of
his parents and brothers, with sculpted portal. Beside it is a small
ruined chapel.
At the NW edge of Achajur is the Tmbadir Early Armenian fortress. Also
near Achajur, about 2 km NW on a flat hilltop near Sevkar, is a ruined
Nahatak (martyr) church probably of the 17th c, with an 8-7th c. BC fort.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 116

Some 3km NW of the village on a wooded height is S. Hovhannes church. In

the SW part of the village is an old settlement with khachkars; 3 km SW are
remains of Old Achajur with remnants of a medieval fortress, identified as
Kayan Berd, atop Paytatap Mountain. There is an old shrine on the S slope.
A dirt road winds 25 km SW from the W end of Achajur to intersect with
another from Yenokavan, near which intersection is the Early Iron Age fort
of Bardzraberd.
Returning to the Noyemberian road, a by-road left leads to Sevkar (1601 v,
formerly Gharatash), with 14th c. church. An underground Communist Party
cell was founded here in 1919. Next comes Sarigyugh (1000 v, till 1951
Ghlchkend), birthplace of a whole herd of Heroes of Socialist Labor. On a
little hill on the W edge of the village is a cyclopean fort of the 8-7th c.
BC; cist graves 1 km W of village. Ruins of Tsakageghtsi church are
located on summit of little hill 3 km W near another small Iron Age
fortress. The village of Berkaber (323 v, formerly Joghaz) is on a small
road right, near a small reservoir just inside the border. It has a wood-
roofed church and khachkars. About 1 km W of Berkaber on the Joghaz river
is the Gavarzin medieval fort (dangerously near the border). Even more
dangerous would be the climb to medieval Gaga Berd on the border summit W
of Berkaber. A spur road left from the main road leads to Tsaghkavan (362
v, till 1940 Melikgyugh), with S. Hakob Church and 12-13th c. khachkars.
Kirants (223 v, until 1967 Getashen) lies above the N bank of the Askipara,
Karkhan or Kunen river. A bit further W, straddling the river, is Acharkut
(99 v, once Kunen), a formerly mixed village founded in 1930 as part of a
forestry collective but occupying part of a once major 9-10th c. town site.
On the N bank is an early church. On the slope S of Acharkut by the
bridge, a dirt road winds uphill to a ramshackle cemetery church of S.
Astvatsatsin (inscription reads: “In the year 1675 I Melikshahnazar son of
Melikaslamaz of the Herume clan, and my wife Khanzate built S. Astvatsatsin
by the hand of Master Hakop.”) and a picnic area beyond. At the W edge of
Acharkut, on the N side of the stream (medieval Sranots bridge somewhere
nearby), the main village road ends at a locked gate, which a neighbor will
open. About 1 km W of the gate, overlooking the muddy, rutted but passable
track (ideal for mountain bikes), are the ruined but interesting remains of
a caravansaray below the 13th c. Arakelots (Apostles’) Monastery* complex.
About 80 m further, a jeep track branches uphill to the monastery proper,
visible on the crest of the hill in dense forest. Though the church is
unimpressive, the forest setting, the mossy tombstones and substantial
remains of the defensive circuit make this a rewarding site. A worn
inscription of 1293 over the S entrance to the gavit links the site to
Khut'lu Bugha Artsruni, son of Atabek Sadun, lord of Mahkanaberd in the
13th c. In return for helping Vakhtang mount the throne of Georgia,
Khut'lu Bugha was made atabek and amirspasalar of Georgia. Unfortunately,
a change of Mongol Il-Khans left him on the wrong side, and he was put to
death in 1297 for plotting insurrection. There is a ruined chapel on the
next hill as well. Supposedly, 2 km NE of Arakelots Vank on a flat place
on the mountain ridge is the little church and khachkar of Khndzorut.
To reach the remote but unique 13th-14th c. Kirants Monastery*, continue
upstream. After another 5 km or so, one branch of the road turns left,
crossing the Zayghoshani bridge (with Persian inscription: in the year of
the Hijra 1207 -- AD 1792) and ascending S toward Deghdznuti Vank of the
13th c. (1 km or so). The small but fine main church seems to have been
begun in 1258 and finished in 1274, and the gavit built very soon
afterwards. An inscription on the S arch of the gavit remembers Asil, a
pilgrim of 1292 from Mesopotamia, probably an Armenian merchant who did
well in difficult times. Another 6 km S of Deghdznuti (and probably more

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 117

reachable from Yenokavan) is Samsoni Vank. This latter monastery has a

domed 12-13th c. church, a shrine and another small church. On the right
bank of the Khndzorkut river, atop a mountain between Deghdznuti and
Samsoni Vank is supposed to be the Berdakar medieval fort, with cisterns.
This would have been Mahkanaberd, the fortress-capital of the Artsruni
family, who enjoyed quasi-autonomy in the area in the 11-13th c. On a slope
opposite Deghdznuti Vank are allegedly remains of another fort, Melik-Abovi
Berd.
Back along the main river track, at about 8 km from the gate on the main W
track is a splendid modern local monument, a monumental stone-built picnic
site with open-air museum* above -- a rock overhang closed with an iron
grating, with local agricultural and household implements from the 19th c.
Continuing upstream, dodging rocks and deep ruts, one finally sees at about
10 km Kirants Monastery*, 13-14th c. The well-preserved but disused main
church is unusual for its brick construction and elegant colored tile
decoration.
Bumping back to the main road, you cross imperceptibly into a projecting
piece of Azerbaijan and the destroyed Azeri village of Lower Askipara.
However, the de facto boundary in 1999 runs along a line of hills about 3
km further E. The spur road left takes one back into Armenia, the village
of Voskepar (677 v) just W of the road. Still standing on the edge of the
ruins of Askipara, intact/restored despite use in the fighting as a machine
gun nest, is Astvatsatsin Church of the 7th c. Somewhere near are traces of
a 10-11th c. castle. A deteriorating road W from Voskepar leads one to a
lovely stream valley filled with the skeletal houses of Upper Askipara
(Verin Aghsibara), a piece of Azerbaijani territory entirely surrounded by
Armenia and separated from Lower Askipara by Voskepar. At the W end of the
village is an 18th (?) c. tower fort with arrow slits. One km beyond is a
medieval stone bridge. Taking the road further upstream, the right fork
may lead to a large ruined church beyond the old collective farm complex.
Leaving Azerbaijan again, you follow the Baghanis river to reach Baghanis
(560 v) with a ruined church perhaps of the 10th c. E of the road, and 12-
13th c. funerary monument. The right (NE) fork from Baghanis leads to areas
still under occasional artillery fire and should probably be avoided. It
goes to Voskevan (1399 v), formerly Ghoshghotan, with a 19th c. church;
birthplace of Soviet hero Ishkhan Saribekian, a sergeant in the Great
Patriotic War. Next is Koti (1602 v), until 1964 Kotigegh, then renamed
Shavarshavan in honor of Shavarsh Amirkhanian, 1894-1959, born in the
village, an early communist who rose to become head of the Armenian KGB
precursor. This road ends at Barekamavan (551 v, till 1978 Dostlu,
Kurumsulu). Some 2 km NW is the Bardzryel pilgrimage site.
Continuing toward Noyemberian, Jujevan (407 v) was founded in 1874 and has
the 19th c. Jujevank monastery and a 12-13th c. chapel. At the SE end of
the village on the left side of the Ijevan road is the Early Bronze Age
Jaghatsategh settlement. On the S side of Jujevan atop a hill by the
Ijevan-Noyemberian road is Poploz-Gash, an Early Iron Age cyclopean fort
Noyemberian (3686 v, till 1938 Baran) has a small, spartan hotel on the W
side of the square/park, behind a cafe with a bright blue awning. Near the
town are three Iron Age cyclopean forts, with traces of early metalworking:
Berdagh, 2km NE; Mraghants Areguni; and Tpi-Gash, N of town. NE is Dovegh
(475 v), formerly Balakend. About 3 km S of Dovegh is the shrine of S.
Sargis, a pilgrimage site for the region.
The main road continues W to Koghb (4092 v). Mshkavank* or Mshakavank,
with a restored Astvatsatsin church, gavit, 5-6th c. Tsghakhach church, 6th
c. Tvarageghtsi church and cemetery of the 12-13th c., is somewhere on the

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 118

mountain 3-4 km SW, accessible by jeep track from Koghb or Noyemberian. SE

1.5 km is Berdategh cyclopean fort, and also (maybe) in the same direction
the Gharanots Gol fort. W of Koghb are two cyclopean forts, Zikurati and
Kozmani (10 km), with Bronze Age tomb fields adjoining. 15 km W is
Patashar cyclopean fort. NW of Koghb is a S. Arakel ruined shrine in the
old Arakelots village. After Koghb, the main road reaches Archis (994 v,
S. Hakop church, shrine, old iron-working site; Early Iron Age cyclopean
fort traces 1.5 km S from the village atop a hill parallel to the Debed)
and Ayrum (1618 v), where the road joins the main Vanadzor-Tbilisi highway.
S of Ayrum on the right bank of the Debed on the hill of the candy factory
is an Early Bronze Age Shahlama fortress. Another Shahlama Bronze Age site
is on the Debed at the intersection where the roads diverge to Tbilisi and
Alaverdi. Ayrum also had an Early Iron Age site 3 km SW of the train
station, where a group of 10-8th c. BC bronze figurines were found in 1962.
To SE is Lchkadzor (319 v, formerly Chalagegh) with 3 km NE on Danieli Tala
hill an unexcavated cyclopean fort.
From Koghb, a road leads NE to Berdavan (2494 v, once Kalacha). Turning
right, an asphalt road winds down through the village. Where two dirt
roads fork, take the left hand, cross the stream, and then bear left again
at the next fork, leading (jeeps only) to a picturesque 10-11th c.
Ghalinjakar castle* on a hill near the Azerbaijan border. There are large
khachkars in the village. From Berdavan, a road goes W to Zorakan (703 v,
formerly the Azeri village of Verin Kerplu), Haghtanak (“Victory”)(867 v,
formerly the Village Linked to Tumanian Sovkhoz), with a Shahlama 6-4th c.
fortress on the right bank of the Debed, Ptghavan (675 v, Azeri until
1988), Deghdzavan (224 v, founded 1978), and Bagratashen (2120 v, formerly
Lambalu) on the Georgian border. Called Debedashen from 1960-72,
Bagratashen was renamed after Hero of Socialist Labor and founder of the
Zeitun plant, Bagrat Vardanian (1894-1971). North along the border,
Debedavan (513 v) was formerly the largely Azeri wine-producing center of
Lalvar.

EXPLORING VAYOTS DZOR

Vayots Dzor is one of the most scenic and historically interesting regions
of Armenia, centered on the watershed of the Arpa River and its tributaries
before they flow SW into Nakhichevan to join the Arax river. Mountainous
and sparsely populated, Vayots Dzor (by popular etymology “the Gorge of
Woes”) is crowded with medieval monasteries, forts, caves, and camping
spots. The uplands have potential hiking/horseback/mountain bike tracks.
There are trout in the streams, and wild sheep, bear (protected) and
smaller game in the mountains. The marz capital is Yeghegnadzor, a 90-120
minute drive from Yerevan over the usually well-paved N-S highway.
Day trips from Yerevan are easy and rewarding. For a fuller exploration,
however, it is necessary either to camp or exploit one of the region’s
modest hotels. The Tigran Hotel in Vaik (phone 279-21434) accommodates
mostly groups. There may now be an adequate hotel in Yeghegnadzor. There
are a series of sanatoria and hotels in Jermuk. Aquarius Travel in
Yeghegnadzor (246-24011, 22113) can reportedly arrange fishing, camping,
caving, and other tours in the region.
The earliest historically recorded settlement in Vayots Dzor was at Moz,
near Malishka, and there are scattered remains of Bronze and early Iron Age
graveyards and “cyclopean” forts (built of large, unworked boulders, as if
by Cyclopes) elsewhere. The region flourished most mightily in the 13th-
14th centuries, when a series of gifted and pious local rulers managed to
coexist with the Mongols and other passing empires. In 1604, the region

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 119

was depopulated when Shah Abbas of Persia, fighting a series of fierce

campaigns against the Ottomans in and over Armenia, forcibly relocated much
of the Armenian community to Persia, both to strengthen his own domain
economically and to leave scorched earth for the Turks. In 1828, with the
Russian conquest, thousands of Armenians emigrated from Persia or Eastern
Turkey to resettle the region. Still, there are scattered remains of
deserted hamlets. In 1988, the population of the combined Yeghegnadzor and
Azizbekov (Vaik) regions was perhaps 60,000, including 10,000 Azeri
Muslims.
East from Ararat -- Areni, Noravank (Map P)
After descending the Arax valley on the main S road from Yerevan, turn left
at the Yeraskh traffic circle (straight will take you to the Nakhichevan
border and possible disaster), and wind up through increasingly scenic
hills until the watershed that marks the border between Ararat and Vayots
Dzor.
The first village one reaches once over the pass is Yelpin (801 voters,
population came from Salmast in 1830) N of the road. Climbing the mountain
NNW of the village are traces of a medieval fort; in the village is a 14th
c. Tukh Manuk shrine/pilgrimage site. One km N are fine khachkars. There
are prehistoric caves nearby. A dirt road leads about 12 km NW to a
mineral spring, on a hill above which is a medieval church. A dirt road N
from Yelpin leads in about 10 km to Khndzorut (Elmalu) village with a
ruined gavit/narthex and cemetery with inscriptions. The old road E toward
Aghavnadzor passes a left turn at the ruined hamlet of Geshin, which leads
in turn to a substantial fortified cave on the mountain slope.
Chiva, turnoff left, (606 v) has a 10th c. church. Just W of the village on
the S side of the road is an early Christian cemetery with fine carved
tombstones. Rind (1013 v) E of Chiva, founded in 1967 to replace the old
village of the same name abandoned due to slides. There is a cave-shrine 3
km NE of the 10-15th c.; Verin Ulgyugh, 1 km, 11-14th c., with S. Stepanos
church, 13-14th c.
The village of Areni (1264 v, formerly called Arpa) is famous for its wine,
much of which is produced in Getap further down the road. Visible to the
right of the main road is the Astvatsatsin (Mother of God) church of 1321,
with interesting tombstones outside; turn S into the village, cross the
bridge, and turn left on a clear road up to the church. There are ruins of
the medieval mansion of Tarsayich Orbelian in the valley and, reportedly,
remains of a cyclopean fort SE of the village on the edge of gorge and a
13th c. bridge on the Arpa r. built by Bishop Sargis (1265-1287); further
along the gorge toward Arpi, on a hill on the S rim of the gorge, is the
ruined 13th c. fort of Ertij. In Areni was found in 1981 an altar with a
Greek inscription of AD 163 dedicating it to the Olympian Goddess on behalf
of a Roman officer, Aemilius Ovalis, of the 15th Legion Apollinaris.
Turning south through the village of Areni, a paved road climbs up to
spectacular views of the Noravank gorge, passing the hamlet of Amaghu.
Near Amaghu on a hill by the gorge are remains of a medieval fortress. On
the right can be seen in the distance the recent fortifications along the
border with Nakhichevan. About 1 km before the village of Khachik, (952 v)
visible on the right are the sadly ruined remains of the 9th c. Karkopi or
Khotakerats (“grass-eaters”) Vank. The site owes its name to the
vegetarian ascetics who used to live in the gorge, assembling only for
Sunday prayers. They were reined in and monasticized by Bishop Hovhannes
III, who built them a church of 911 (several times rebuilt after
earthquakes) with the support of Shushan, widow of Ashot I. The gavit is
13th c. In the village itself is the Astvatsatsin basilica dated 1681. Some

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 120

1.5 km E of the village are remains of Berdatagh ruined medieval castle.

There is supposed a Hngazard ruined medieval church 2 km NE.
A kilometer past Areni on the main road to Yeghegnadzor is the turnoff
right for Noravank**, across the bridge and through a narrow gorge, whose
stream has sadly disappeared into a large iron pipe. At the entrance to
the gorge on the right is a cluster of high but shallow and unornamented
caves, called Trchuneri Karayr (Bird Cave), in with Bronze Age child
burials were found. Further inside the gorge on the left is the Magil
cave, going a considerable distance into the hillside. Note a huge boulder
right of the road outfitted as a picnic site. Beyond the caves, the gorge
opens out and the monastery comes into view. The paved road continues up
and to the left, ending in a parking lot below the monastery.
A gravel road continuing up the canyon ends after a few meters amid a
welter of khorovats detritus. Continuing on foot, at the iron gates for
the water project one can continue straight along the left bank of the
stream toward a concealed picnic site with table and fire circle (about 200
meters) or else follow a path that slopes up to the left. This latter
passes below the little chapel of St. Pokas (Phokas), in which is the basin
of a sacred spring and, according to a tradition that was already "old"
when Bishop Stepanos Orbelian wrote about him in the late 13th century, the
site of a seep of miraculous healing oil from Pokas's buried relics. The
learned bishop wrote, "Here surprising miracles used to occur. All kinds
of pains, whose cure by men was impossible, such as leprosy and long-
infected and gangrenous wounds, were cured when people came here, bathed in
the water and were anointed with the oil. But in cases where these were
fatal, they expired immediately." Modest votive crosses show that the
shrine remains venerated. Past St. Pokas, the narrow, occasionally steep,
but clear path climbs along the canyon side to a series of broad ledges
with beautiful views of the cliffs.
Noravank (“New monastery”) was founded by Bishop Hovhannes, Abbot of
Vahanavank (in Syunik W of Kapan), who moved there in 1105 and built the
original S. Karapet church. According to Stepanos Orbelian, Hovhannes went
to the Persian (actually Seljuk) Sultan Mahmud and came back with a firman
giving him possession. He gathered religious folk, and established a rule
barring women and lewd persons. Unfortunately, the evil amira (lord) of
the nearby castle of Hraskaberd (scanty ruins of which, not firmly
identified, are somewhere in the hills SE) plotted to kill him and destroy
the monastery. Hovhannes, who was gifted in languages, went to Isfahan,
cured the Sultan's sick son, and came back with the title deeds to
Hraskaberd and 12 nearby estates, and a trusty band of heavily armed men
who pushed the amira and his family off a cliff. A century later, Stepanos
says, a group of "Persians" rebuilt Hraskaberd, but two lieutenants of the
Zakarian brothers kicked them out in favor of Liparit Orbelian (see last
page) and reestablished the monastery's claim to the estates surrounding.
Bishop Hovhannes led a holy life and worked numerous miracles, such as
catching in his hands unharmed a woman and infant who fell off the cliff.
During the 13th and 14th centuries a series of princes of the Orbelian clan
built churches which served as the burial site for the family. The
monastery became the center of the Syunik bishopric. The nearest and
grandest church is the Astvatsatsin (“Mother of God”), also called
Burtelashen (“Burtel-built”) in honor of Prince Burtel Orbelian, its donor.
The church, completed in 1339, is said to be the masterpiece of the
talented sculptor and miniaturist Momik. In modern times the church has had
a plain hipped roof, but in 1997 the drum and conical roof were rebuilt to
reflect the original glory still attested by battered fragments. The ground
floor (locked in 1999 during restoration) contained elaborate tombs of

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 121

Burtel and his family. Narrow steps projecting from the west façade lead
up to the entrance to the church/oratory. Note the fine relief sculpture
over the doors, Christ flanked by Peter and Paul.
The earlier church is the S. Karapet, a cross-in square design with
restored drum and dome built in 1216-1227, just N of the ruins of the
original S. Karapet, destroyed in an earthquake. Forming the western
antechamber is an impressive gavit of 1261, decorated with splendid
khachkars and with a series of inscribed gravestones in the floor. That of
the historian/bishop Stepanos dated 1303 is toward the western door. Note
the famous carvings over the outside lintel. The side chapel of S. Grigor,
built in 1275, contains more Orbelian family tombs, including a splendidly
strange carved lion/human tombstone dated 1300, covering the grave of
Elikum son of Prince Tarsayich and brother of Bishop Stepanos. Alas,
nothing is preserved of the rich church ornaments and miraculous relics
Stepanos and his predecessors assembled for the glory of God. In its
heyday, Noravank housed a piece of the True Cross stained with Christ's
blood. This wondrous relic, acquired forcibly by a notable family of
Artsakh from a mysterious stranger after it raised a villager's dead child,
was purchased by the Orbelians for cash when the family became refugees.
Noravank was hot in July/August, even in the 13th c. Bishop Stepanos
reports that the bishops and monks moved to Arates monastery in the
mountains E of Shatin to avoid the summer heat. Summer tourists should
arrive early morning or late afternoon for a more pleasant visit.
Arpi (697 v) founded in 1965. About 6.4 km after Areni, just before the
Arpi sign, the first road turning right to cross the Arpa r, leads in 7.6
km to an old guardhouse on the left and, immediately beyond on the right
beside the road, the tin-covered entrance to the Mozrovi cave. Discovered
in the 1970s during road building and still not completely mapped, this
cave is deep and full of spectacular colored stalagmite and stalactite
formations. Entrance is perilous, through a hole in the cover and down a
steep slope, and should not be attempted without an experienced caver. The
Arji cave and several others are in the same general area. Another mile
further up is the village of Mozrov, with about 50 families, and, on an
increasingly poor dirt road, Gnishik, (3 families) almost abandoned in 1975
due to landslides. Some 2 km NE is Dali Khach ruined shrine. In the
village are khachkars of 9-17th c. and a church of 1463. There are 1st
millennium BC graves 2 km N of village; allegedly by bad road SE about 10
km is Hraskaberd of the 9-12th c. Four km E of Gnishik are the remains of
old Boloraberd village with a 13-14th c. Tukh Manuk chapel. S of Boloraberd
are remains of Vardablur village with a ruined church and cemetery. There
is a medieval Vardablur fortress E. Some 4 km NE of Gnishik is the former
Gandzak village with a medieval cemetery and church.
Selim Caravansaray and the Yeghegis Monasteries (Map P)
At 34.3 m is the Yeghegis River, with roads leading N to Getap on both
sides of the stream. Take the far (E) road, bypassing Getap, (“River
bank”, known until 1935 as Ghoytur, 1402 v), home of some of the Areni
vintages. Two km NE of Getap atop a hill are ruins of Aghli Vank church,
with inscriptions. Continuing N along the Yeghegis R, note at 5.8 km the
spur of a medieval bridge.
...Right of the road inside the village is a small ruined basilica. In
2000, a team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under Professor
Michael Stone excavated on the S side of the Yeghegis river opposite the
village a Jewish cemetery with some 40 gravestones with fine Hebrew
inscriptions, attesting to the existence of a literate and prosperous
Jewish community in Yeghegis in the years around 1289. Somewhere on the

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 122

mountain a few km NE are ruins of 13th c. Gyulum Bulaghi Vank (probably

Upper Noravank, attested in manuscripts).

At 9.1 km is the first turnoff to the right for Shatin (see below).
Continuing straight (N), now along the Selim river, you seen on the left at
Hors (239 v), with the Chibukh Kyorpi bridge of the 14th c.; the tomb of
Chesar Orbelian, and a 14th c. church with khachkars. On the right is Salli
(136 v); then on the left Taratumb, (378 v), with a khachkar of 1251 and a
church of 1880; again on the right is Karaglukh, (553 v). Some 3 km S on a
high plateau are the ruined 13th c. walls of Mamasi Vank, built according to
medieval legend to house the relicts of St. Mamas, carried back to Armenia
by the princes of Syunik from Caesaria in Asia Minor in the 4th c. The 13th
c. church is called S. Poghos (St. Paul). On a hill 3 km E of Karaglukh is
a simple Tukh Manuk shrine built by the ruins of a substantial earlier
church. There are numerous khachkars.
Aghnjadzor (1281 v) (formerly Aghkend, a mixed Armenian/Azeri village, with
church/cemetery), is the site of Lernantsk Caravansaray, located about a
kilometer N of the village, appearing east of the road like a half-buried
Quonset hut. Take the dirt road just past the bridge, crossing the early
bridge and heading up the stream valley. A smaller and cruder structure
than the Selim Caravansaray, it was built in roughly the same period. Four
km N are the so-called Kapuyt Berd (“Blue Fort”) ruins.
Shortly beyond, asphalt gives way to a narrow dirt road, which begins to
switchback up the mountain toward the Selim Pass. Note that the road
becomes impassable to normal cars in wintertime, usually December - April.
Unless recent road work has been done, take the first turnoff up to the
right, rather than the apparently smoother and wider main track, which was
cut further up by a washout.)
Selim Caravansaray** lies below the road just before the summit on the
south side of Selim Pass (2410 m), a splendid relic of the days when an
international trade route connected Vayots Dzor to the Sevan basin and
points North. According to the Armenian inscription on the right inside the
door, Prince Chesar Orbelian and his brothers built this rest-house in 1332
in the reign of Abu Said Il Khan, “the ruler of the world,” whose death in
1335 deprived the world of an enlightened Mongol despot and ushered in a
new wave of invasions. The Persian inscription on the outside lintel
(almost effaced by recent vandals, gives the date 1326-7. The Armenian
inscription reads:
“In the name of the Almighty and powerful God, in the year 1332, in
the world-rule of Busaid Khan, I Chesar son of Prince of Princes
Liparit and my mother Ana, grandson of Ivane, and my brothers,
handsome as lions, the princes Burtel, Smbat and Elikom of the
Orbelian nation, and my wife Khorishah daughter of Vardan [and ...]
of the Senikarimans, built this spiritual house with our own funds
for the salvation of our souls and those of our parents and brothers
reposing in Christ, and of my living brothers and sons Sargis,
Hovhannes the priest, Kurd and Vardan. We beseech you, passers-by,
remember us in Christ. The beginning of the house {took place} in
the high-priesthood of Esai, and the end, thanks to his prayers, in
the year 1332.
The best preserved caravansaray in Armenia, Selim is built of basalt
blocks, with a cavernous central hall for animals separated from the two
vaulted side aisles by rows of stone mangers. Bring a flashlight (though
the dim light through the smoke holes in the roof adds a proper medieval
flavor). There is a little spring/fountain monument just uphill beyond the

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 123

caravansaray. The bad road continues N over the pass and ultimately to
Martuni.
Shatin and Eastward -- Tsakhatskar, Smbataberd (Map P)
At 10.0 km from the Yeghegnadzor road is the second turn-off for Shatin,
(1164 v, till 1935 Hasankend), where the Yeghegis river turns E. Main
attraction is Shativank*, a fortified monastery 3km E up the gorge.
Directions: Toward the far end of the village, take the right fort down to
the bridge and cross. About 150 m further, take the right fork and then,
about .5 further, the left fork steeply up to a tiny cemetery. From there,
a jeep road winds up and around to the monastery. Preferable option,
particularly for the jeepless, is to walk up the gorge, a rewarding 45-
minute climb. The path can be found by taking the left fork above the
bridge, going about 100 m until 15 meters before a white-painted garage
gate. On the right, between a telephone pole and an iron rod, a faint
trail ascends steeply. At the power pylon on the spine to the left, the
path becomes wide and clear. Inside a substantial fortification wall,
Shativank consists of the S. Sion Church rebuilt in 1665, two-story monks
and guest quarters (SE corner is best preserved), a grain storage silo
(NW), khachkars, and (outside the walls SE) a waterworks. Other
antiquities in the vicinity reportedly include Berdakar fort (2 km S, 5th
c.), Shatin bridge, a shrine S, and a 10th c. church in Hostun.
Going E from Shatin, one follows the Yeghegis river upstream. Note that
many of the village names have changed since 1988, along with the
population. At the first fork beyond Shatin, signposted “Tsakhatskar Vank
13 km”, turning left (N) on a paved road brings one to Artabuynk (726 v,
until 1946 Erdapin, then Yeghegis until the recent transfer of populations,
when Alayaz reclaimed the name.) Its inhabitants were brought in 1830 from
Khoy region. Follow the lower road parallel to the stream until about 1 km
past the village. An unmarked jeep track angles steeply down to the right,
fords the stream, and climbs up. The left fork (and left again) leads (6 km
NE of village) to the splendid ruined Tsakhatskar Monastery**, with S.
Hovhannes church of 989, S. Karapet church of the 10th c, and a host of
other ruined buildings, decorated with splendid khachkars, on the flank of
the mountain. Retracing the track and taking the first right fork leads to
the 9th century fortress of Smbatabert**. This spectacular castle sits on
the crest of the ridge between Artabuynk and Yeghegis (or, as most people
still call them, Yeghegis and Alayaz), and includes an upper citadel. The
castle received water from a buried clay pipe leading from the monastery.
According to legend, the Turks compelled the fort’s surrender by employing
a thirsty horse to sniff out the pipeline.
Beyond Artabuynk on the main dirt road is Horbategh (166 v), with S.
Hreshtakapetats (Holy Archangels) Church, rebuilt in 1692, and khachkars.
Returning through Artabuynk to the main E-W paved road, one soon reaches
the village of Yeghegis* (272 v, until 1994 Alayaz), historically Armenian,
as attested by the rich sprinkling of antiquities. When its Azeri
inhabitants departed, the houses were occupied by Armenians, half refugees
from Sumgait in Azerbaijan and half locals seeking a house and land of
their own. Entering the village, one sees on the left a stone enclosure
with khachkars commemorating the Orbelian family. Left on a narrow village
road takes one first to the Astvatsatsin basilica, rebuilt in 1703, then to
a small domed 13th c. church of S. Karapet with cemetery and then, on a
green hill E of town, S. Zorats cathedral or S. Stepanos, built in 1303 by
a grandson of Prince Tarsayich Orbelian. The church has been extensively
restored. Its name comes allegedly from the custom of consecrating arms
and horses there before battle. In the NW part of the village,

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 124

incorporated into house and garden walls, are substantial remains of

cyclopean walls and caves/cellars. Right of the road inside the village is
a small ruined basilica. Somewhere on the mountain a few km NE are ruins
of 13th c. Gyulum Bulaghi Vank (probably Upper Noravank, attested in
manuscripts).
A few km E on the main road is Hermon, (119 v), until recently Ghavushugh.
Guney Vank, plausibly identified with the anciently attested monastic
center Hermoni Vank, of the 9-17th c, is somewhere nearby up a difficult
road, with S. Grigor Lusavorich church and a 12-13th c. cemetery. N of
Hermon is the former village of Kalasar, with scant remains of a church and
cemetery. Taking the left fork in Hermon, and then the next left
(signposted for Arates Vank), an asphalt road winds N to a small military
checkpoint, beyond which is the village of Arates (formerly the Azeri
village of Ghzlgyul, now mostly unpopulated). Arates Vank* has the 7th c.
S. Sion church; Astvatsatsin of 10th c. church; and S. Karapet of 13th c.
church; a ruined gavit built in 1265/70, by order of Prince Smbat Orbelian,
architect Siranes. Dirt roads lead beyond into the mountains.
Keeping right at the turnoff for Arates, one climbs to the village of
Vardahovit (141 v, formerly the three Azeri hamlets of Gyulliduz (with huge
khachkar), Gharaghaya, Gyadikvank). The current population (130 families
in summer, 30 in winter) is half refugees from Azerbaijan, half locals.
When the weather holds, they scratch out a bare existence with wheat and
potatoes. Continuing straight through the village, a deteriorating dirt
road leads to the large, totally ruined hamlet of Gyadikvank, which has,
left of the road, a few khachkars and worked blocks from a disappeared
monastery. According to the mayor, the inhabitants of Gyadikvank were
removed, with compensation, before the Karabakh crisis, with the aim of
building a reservoir. Somewhere a few km NE is supposedly a monastery of
the 10th c, Kotur Vank/Ghoturvan, with a church of 1271. Beyond Gyadikvank,
the jeep track leads on through the mountains to Vardenis and Kelbajar.
Returning to Hermon, the other (S) fork leads in 3.2 km up to Goghtanik
(161 v, formerly Ghabakhlu), with an artificial cave, a 13th c. bridge, and
13th c. church. Climbing out of the Yeghegis R. valley, the road becomes a
mud track, impassible in winter (summit of pass 8.6 km from Hermon). On
the far side of the pass (15.7 km), on the Herher river, is Karmrashen,
(201 v, 65 families, originally Kyotanli), from 1963 a construction site
for the Arpa-Sevan tunnel. On a hill E are ruins of a small church, and
1.5 km SW are ruins of two more. There is a carved votive to Saints Peter
and Paul, set up by Prince Elikum Orbelian in 1291, one km S of town.
The road improves markedly at Herher, (504 v) with its Surp Sion Monastery
one km NE on a hilltop, first attested in the 8th c. There are S. Sion and
Astvatsatsin churches. On the interior S wall of the latter, an
inscription reads: “By the will of Almighty God, this is the memorial
inscription and the indelible monument of the glorious Baron Varham, son of
Vasak, grandson of the great Magistros, and of his pious wife Sandoukht and
of their handsome offspring Ukan, and of the powerful and great general
Varham, and of his Christ-loving mother Mamkan, and the well-born lady wife
of Gontza, who built this church with much toil and ornamented it with rich
plate for my long life and that of my wife and our children Ukan ... An
offering to the Holy Monastery in 732/AD 1283.”
In the village itself is a 19th c. S. Gevorg church and, just S, Grigor
Lusavorich shrine (1296), with S. Gevorg or Chiki Vank of 1297; SE 1 km is
the small Kapuyt Berd (“Blue Castle”) on a summit; various other ruins
nearby, including a ruined village with 14th c. khachkars. In the 13th c,

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 125

Herher was fief of the Orbelian vassals, the Shahurnetsi family. The Herher
road rejoins the main Yeghegnadzor-Goris road about 6.5 km E of Vaik.
Yeghegnadzor and Environs -- Tanahat, Boloraberd (Map P)
Aghavnadzor, (1281 v) has 13th c. Aghjkaberd fort 1 km E; S. Astvatsatsin
Church of 12th c. 4km NE, with funerary monument of 1009; ruined
caravansaray 4 km NW; and 4 km N the Ul Gyughi 13-14th c. church.
Yeghegnadzor, (6898 v), historically Yeghegik, an ancient seat of the
Orbelian family, until 1935 Keshishkend, from 1935-57 called Mikoyan.
Turning left up the main road into town, bear left to pass the hotel (60
rooms, bleak), then bear right. 100 m beyond on the left is a white
building with round doorway destined to be the Museum, once funds are found
to set up the exhibits. A small display room in the basement shows
interesting medieval pottery, while the storerooms contain everything from
fossils to spinning wheels. At the west side of town is a 17th c. church of
S. Sargis, still in use. Immediately beyond it is a fortified mound
surrounded by a cyclopean wall. Yeghegnadzor’s cannery, cheese factory,
rug factory are moribund. A fresh report suggests that there is a
refurbished small hotel, and also an enterprising travel office, Aquarius,
offering riding and other adventures in the surrounding hills.
Continuing N up the road past the Museum, one reaches the village of
Gladzor (1553 v) until 1946 Ortakend; inhabitants came from Soma, Iran in
1830. There is the so-called Vardani berd of the 9th c. on SW edge, with
khachkars; also 1692 S. Hreshtakapet (Archangel) church. Continuing, the
road reaches Vernashen, (961 v., historical name Srkoghovk, known till 1946
as Bashkend) site of the Masis shoe factory. Inhabitants came from Salmast
in 1829. In village, S. Hakob church of 17th c. built with earlier carved
blocks, has been converted into a museum for the Gladzor university. There
are photographs and maps charting the existence of educational institutions
in Armenia, and the influence of Gladzor and its pupils. Outside the door
are seven modern khachkars representing the trivium and quadrivium, the 7
branches of medieval learning. Tanahati Vank* (or Tanade), the actual site
of the university is 7 km SE continuing along the same narrow paved road.
The S. Stepanos church was built 1273-79 by the Proshian family (family
crest of eagle with lamb in its claws carved in S wall, with the Orbelian
crest of lion and bull near it). Here is the story of S. Stepanos, as told
by Kirakos Gandzaketsi (tr. R. Bedrosian):
At this time, in the year 222 A.E. [= 773], Step'annos, the court
priest, who was recognized as an eloquent man, attained mastery of
all scholarly and grammatical knowledge, with spiritual virtue. In
Armenia there were select, enlightening vardapets then, [among them]
lords Ep'rem, Anastas, Xach'ik and Dawit' Horhomayets'i, and the
great scholar Step'annos Siwnets'i, a pupil of Movses, whom we
recalled above. Step'annos was a translator from the Greek to the
Armenian language who, beyond his translations, wrote spiritual songs
of sweet melody, sharakans, kts'urds (anthems), and other songs. He
also wrote brief commentaries on the Gospels, on grammar, on the Book
of Job and [the hymn] "Lord, that the edge of night..." (Ter et'e
shrt'ants'n gisheroy). It is said that from childhood, the blessed
Step'annos was versed in the writings of holy men. Aspet Smbat, a
Diophysite, was antagonistic toward Step'annos. So Step'annos left
him in disagreement and went to Rome where he found a certain
orthodox hermit with whom he stayed and learned from. Now when Smbat
heard about this, he wrote to the Byzantine emperor [informing him]
that Step'annos was a heretic who anathematized the emperor's
confession, and that he was [66] staying with a certain hermit named

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 126

such-and-such. The emperor became furious and ordered Step'annos to

court. But the hermit first advised him to say about himself: "I am a
beggar and a wanderer". When the emperor heard this, his angry rage
subsided. Becoming bold, Step'annos entreated the emperor to open
the trunks of sacred writings for him. Finding there a book with
golden letters containing an account of the faith, he showed it to
the emperor. [The latter] upon reading it, sent Step'annos to the
city of Rome to bring thence three similar books about the true
faith, so that the country be converted to that religion.
Now Step'annos, heedless of the autocrat's order, took the books from
Rome and went to the city of Dwin in order to enlighten his country
with them. And lord Dawit' ordained Step'annos bishop of Siwnik', at
the request of K'urd and Babgen, princes of Siwnik'. After occupying
the episcopacy for only a year, [Step'annos] was slain by a whore
from Moz district. His body was taken to a chamber in Arkaz; from
there they laid it to rest in the monastery of T'anahat. The
venerable Step'annos brought the writings to the bishopric of
Siwnik'; three ranks for the bishops of Armenia were established.
Now a certain cenobite named Noah (Noy), saw a vision in which
Step'annos' breast was covered with blood as he stood before the
Savior, saying: "Behold this, Lord,for Your judgements are
righteous". Notifying the cenobites in the district about the coming
wrath, he admonished them to pray. Then behold, from On High an
impenetrable darkness enveloped the borders of Moz, and the place
shook for forty days. Ten thousand people were buried [in the
earthquake], for which reason the place was named Vayots' Dzor
[Valley of Sighs], as it still is today. For those in pain, and those
who are ill, there is much healing in Step'annos' relics, for those
who seek the intercession of the blessed man. In this world God
glorifies those who glorify Him, while in the next world, He gives
them good things He has prepared, [things] "which eye has not seen,
which ear has not heard, and which the heart of mankind has not
experienced" [I Corinthians 2, 9].
Varaga S. Nshan shrine of 13th c adjoins S. Stepanos Church. South of it,
among the ruins of the educational buildings, are foundations of a small 5th
c. basilica. The site was excavated in 1970 by I. Gharibian. Gladzor
University flourished from 1291 till the 1340s and was a bastion of
Armenia’s theological resistance to Uniate Catholicism. About 3 km E of
Tanahati Vank is Arkazi S. Khach (Holy Cross) Vank, a church completely
rebuilt in 1870-71, still a significant pilgrimage site particularly on
October 8 or 11. According to legend, a piece of the true Cross, given by
the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius to the wife of Burtegh, ruler of Syunik,
was buried in the walls.
Boloraberd* or Proshaberd, is 6-7 km N of Vernashen on a poor jeep track (L
just beyond Gladzor U. Museum). The fortress was built in 13th c. by Prince
Prosh, namesake of the Proshian family; shrine to E. About one km distant
is the Spitakavor S. Astvatsatsin church*, built in 1321 by the Proshians,
with a bell tower of 1330 and rich sculptural decoration similar to that of
Noravank and perhaps by the same artists. There are traces of a ruined 5th
c. basilica. In the yard of the monastery are buried the earthly remains
of the famous Turk-fighter Garegin Nzhdeh, brought secretly to Armenia in
1983. Nzhdeh, born Garegin Ter-Harutyunian in 1886, the son of a village
priest in Nakhichevan, led an Armenian band fighting alongside the
Bulgarians in the 1912 First Balkan War. He then led a combined Armenian-
Yezidi volunteer detachment against the Turks in WWI. In the 1919-21
battles for Armenian independence, Nzhdeh led the Armenian irregular forces

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 127

in Zangezur (now S. Syunik Marz) that, according to the 1995 biography

published by the Republican Party of Armenia, killed 15,000 Azeris for a
total loss of 28 Armenians, and cleansed of their former inhabitants 200
villages in the process of saving Zangezur as part of Armenia. Forced into
exile with the Sovietization of Armenia, Nzhdeh pursued fruitless
negotiations with Nazi Germany in hopes of redeeming the lost Armenian
lands of Eastern Turkey. He died in a Soviet prison in 1955.
Some 150 meters E past the main turnoff into downtown Yeghegnazdor, a paved
road goes S toward Agarakadzor, (884 v), just across the Arpa. Immediately
after crossing the bridge, turn right and follow the dirt road downstream
about 2 km to the well-preserved 13th c. bridge* which served once the road
to Julfa. There is a 13-15th c. graveyard 2km E of town. On the N bank of
the Arpa somewhere nearby is the abandoned site of Erdes with a ruined
medieval castle and a small church.
Moving East to Vayk (Map P)
Some 3 km E beyond the large and active village of Malishka (3347 v), a
dirt road right leads to the sparse remains of Moz, the original city of
Vayots Dzor, ruined by earthquake in the 8th c. There is a Bronze Age
burial ground, an early fort and church of the 7th c. Other smaller sites in
the Malishka region reportedly include Ghaluchay fort 2 km SE, 13-15th c.;
Solyani fort in Doshalti. A once-paved road about 4 km E of Malishka
crosses the Arpa and ends at Zedea (115 v) formerly Zeita, a small mountain
village with a few khachkars amid bleak but interesting scenery.
Vayk (4801 v) (originally Soylan, from 1956-1994 Azizbekov, named for one
of the few ethnic Azeris among the famous 26 Baku commissars, vanguard of
Azerbaijan’s largely ethnic Armenian proletariat, whose short-lived
Bolshevik government of Baku was deposed as the Turkish army approached.
Fleeing to Turkmenistan, the 26 were detained and finally executed in
September 1918 by jittery local authorities after the British refused to
take them), on the Arpa r.; Tigran Hotel, restaurants. One km E is a
bridge rebuilt by General Paskevich in 1827.
Somewhere N above Vaik is Arin (196 v) formerly Daylakhlu, founded in the
mid-19th c. on an older site. South from Vaik is Azatek (402 v), with a 17-
18th c. church and ruins of a castle locally called Smbataberd; residents
came from Salmast in 1828. Two km S is S. Hakop shrine of 1072, with S.
Marinos shrine nearby. The disused village of Por has a 19th c. church and
a medieval cemetery.
Southern Vayots Dzor (Map P)
Crossing the second bridge after leaving Vaik puts one on the paved road to
Zaritap (1002 v), (until 1935 Pashaghu, then until 1957 Azizbekov), with
13th c. khachkars, a modern church, and traces of an old fort. A regional
tobacco center. Continuing straight past Zaritap, one takes the unmarked
left fork to reach the newer section of Martiros village (515 v). At the
military barracks, turn left and bear left again to reach in 2 km the older
part of Martiros, founded, as a huge khachkar still attests, in 1283 at the
command of Prince Prosh and his son Paron Hasan. Opposite the khachkar is
a basilica built in 1866 and extensively rebuilt in the 1980s, including
half-finished buildings for a future theological academy. A local woman
named Taguhi Zeldian saw a vision here, and inspired the All-Holy Trinity
Second Jerusalem church.
Just before entering this part of Martiros, a dirt road forks right, around
the hill and across a flat field. Stop at the far edge, and follow the
slope around to the left (E) toward a lone khachkar with several tumbled
monument bases. A rough track SE follows a water channel around to a small

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 128

dam in the gorge. Cross it, and climb about 100 m to a little door in the
rock leading to the rock-cut S. Astvatsatsin church and side chapel,
founded by Matevos vardapet in 1286 at the behest of the Proshians (who
also built the rock-cut Geghard). There is an underground passage, now
blocked, to the stream, and caves below left of the church.
The right fork in new Martiros leads to Sers (193 v). The right fork
closer to Zaritap on the Zaritap-Martiros road leads to Khndzorut (400 v,
19th c. church), until 1946 Almalu (Turkish name also means “apple-ish”).
Somewhere NW of Khndzorut is the abandoned site of Horadis, with a church
of 1668. Gulistan village near Khndzorut has a ruined fortress S.
Bardzruni village further E has a small church used as a shop.
Turning E through Zaritap, a left fork leads to Akhta, populated by Azeris
until 1990, now with a single occupant. The cemetery has ram and other
animal-shaped tombstones. The right fork leads to Gomk, (159 v) formerly
Gomur, with a 17th c. church and an important shrine/khachkar of 1263. The
inscription reads, “In 712 of the Armenian era, under the pious Prince
Prosh, Mkhitar, Arevik, son of Khoidan, set up this cross and chapel. In
the village there was not even a church; we have built this church with our
own means with much trouble, for us and our parents. You who read,
remember us in your prayers.” Kapuyt has various khachkars and
inscriptions of the 10-15th c.
Jermuk and Eastward -- Gndevank (Map P)
Continuing on toward Jermuk, in the gorge of the Arpa river, below the
village of Gndevaz, (566 v, Astvatsatsin church of 1686, water channel of
11th c.), is Gndevank*. This monastery was founded in 936 by Princess Sofia
of Syunik, who reportedly boasted that “Vayots Dzor was a jewelless ring,
but I built this as the jewel on it.” Inside the S. Stepanos church is a
wall-painting of Mary and the Christ child, thought to be contemporary with
the church. The gavit dates to 999, but the monastery circuit wall is late
medieval. Gndevank can be reached by taking the narrow road on the W side
of the river, or by taking the main Jermuk road, turning left till the far
lower edge of Gndevaz, and walking about 2 km (?). The village of Kechut
has three ruined churches of the 7th, 13th and 17th c. Khachkars from there
were used to build a later bridge over the Arpa.
Jermuk, (4090 v) on the Arpa r., 2080 m elevation. Named for the hot
springs (up to 65 °C), source of the famous fizzy water. There is a
picturesque waterfall, interesting walks, a rock formation in the shape of
Vardan Mamikonian, and the possibility of a cure of most human ailments at
one of the many sanatoriums. A rich village in medieval times, its remains
are under the modern buildings.
A right turn (S) at or just after the main turnoff for Gndevaz and Jermuk
leads to Artavan (239 v), with 18th c. bridge, cemetery, probably a fief of
Tatev. Continuing on takes one to Saravan (162 v, till 1956 Darb, Azeri
until 1988), with a 17th c. church and some medieval gravestones, and
Ughedzor, formerly Kochbek, on the Darb river. At the summit of the pass,
one enters the Marz of Syunik (Map K).
The Orbelian Princes
The Orbelian lords of Syunik were a fascinating family, documented in
inscriptions throughout Vayots Dzor and Syunik, and recorded by the family
bishop Stepanos in his 1297 History of Syunik. They traced their legendary
origin back to China (or at any rate somewhere east and exotic), but from
the 4th through 12th century were a major feudal family in Georgia, with
their home base the fortress of Orbet in or near Abkhazia. In the late
12th century, their leader Ivane led his whole extended clan on the losing

Kiesling, 9 June 2000

 129

side in a power struggle between the deceased king's young heir, Ivane's
protege Demetre, and the king's brother Georgi. Ivane sent his brother
Liparit and nephews Elikum and Ivane to the Persians in Tabriz for help,
but this new army came too late, after Ivane had been blinded, his family
strangled, and young Demetre blinded and castrated.
Liparit died in exile. One son, Ivane, returned to Georgia when the
situation cooled down; his descendants, on their dwindled estates, stayed
prominent in Georgia and even the USSR. Honored by the Persian atabek,
other son Elikum stayed and became an important official, converting (half-
heartedly and maybe not at all) to Islam and dying in one of the atabek's
wars. He left behind a widow, sister of an Armenian bishop of Syunik, and
a young son Liparit. These quickly became, involuntarily, the wife and
step-son of a Muslim notable in Nakhichevan.
In the year 1211 a combined Georgian and Armenian army under Ivane Zakarian
wrested control of Syunik from the Turks. Remembering the Orbelians --
whose dominant role in Georgia the Zakarians had since filled -- Ivane made
a search, located Liparit thanks to the bishop brother-in-law, and
established him as feudal lord of Vayots Dzor. Bolstered by marriage
alliances with its feudal relations the Khaghbakians or Proshians and
others, the Orbeliansflourished, building or supporting a network of fine
monasteries, historically important manuscripts, and inscribed khachkars.
Every medieval monastery in Vayots Dzor bears inscriptions recording their
patronage.
The Mongol arrival imposed the need for fast footwork. In 1251 and 1256,
the prudent and multi-lingual Orbelian prince Smbat made arduous
pilgrimages to Karakorum, armed with a splendid jewel and divine blessing,
and persuaded Mangu Khan, son of Genghis, the Mongol ruler, to make Syunik
and its churches a tax-exempt fiefdom under Mangu’s (or at least his
Christian mother's) direct patronage. The family expanded its influence,
helped by an apparently genuine and reciprocated liking and respect for the
Mongols, at least until the Mongols converted to Islam. In 1286, the
scholar of the family, the historian Stepanos, made the pilgrimage to the
Western Armenian kingdom in Cilicia and was made Metropolitan -- presiding
archbishop --of the newly amplified See of Syunik.
The fiefdom was divided in three from 1290-1300, then reunited by Burtel,
who ruled a flourishing principality and was ultimately named Mayor/Amir of
the Mongol capitals Sultania and Tabriz. This close cooperation with the
Mongol rulers had its price. Several Orbelians died on the Khan’s
campaigns far from home, and one spent 12 years a captive in Egypt before
being ransomed. The Orbelians survived the arrival of Timur Lenk and his
Turkmen hordes in the 1380s, but in the collapse of Timur’s empire into
warring factions, Smbat, the last firm Orbelian ruler of Syunik, chose the
wrong side and, on the capture of his stronghold of Vorotnaberd (S of
Sisian) in 1410, decamped for Georgia where he died. Orbelians managed to
retain property in Vayots Dzor throughout the 15th c, though many of them
emigrated to their relatives in Georgia.

Kiesling, 9 June 2000