Must see - the most beautiful monasteries of southern Armenia

There are hundreds of reasons to travel to Armenia, and one of them is its insanely beautiful monasteries. They are many hundreds of years old, they were erected in unusually picturesque places, and the entrance to such places is fundamentally free. Photos of these monasteries will almost completely amaze friends and acquaintances, and accounts on Instagram and Afsuishchschl will fill up with likes and enthusiastic comments.

But I will not be unfounded. I will tell you, for example, only about the three monasteries of Southern Armenia. They can be visited in one day, however, this will require a vehicle, because then you will have to drive almost 300 kilometers.

Let me introduce - Khor Virap, Noravank and Tatev! They are the best in this part of Armenia!

All presented monasteries are very popular attractions among tourists, but if you get up early and try not to slow down too much, you can manage to enjoy their views almost completely alone. We did it only partially. At 9 a.m., we were in Khor Virap monastery, the closest to Yerevan. At that moment it was still deserted, although literally half an hour later the number of arriving buses with new tour groups began to roll over.

This monastery is located on a small hill 35 kilometers from Yerevan. They come here primarily because of the magnificent views of Ararat. The view of the monastery on the background of the legendary mountain can be safely called one of the most popular in the world.

The history of its creation is very interesting. 17 centuries ago, the ancient capital of Armenia, the city of Artashat, was located in this place. For the preaching of Christianity, here in a deep well spent 13 years in prison, Gregory the Illuminator.

Later, he managed to cure the king of Armenia Trdat from the madness, thanks to which he proclaimed Christianity the main religion of his kingdom. Gregory himself became the first Supreme Patriarch of all Armenians, and after his death - one of the most revered saints here.

Later, a chapel was built over the well, which was called Khor Virap, which in translation means “deep dungeon” from Armenian. A monastery appeared here about a thousand years ago. A bit later, the seminary. All buildings in Khor Virap were rebuilt more than once during the following centuries. Now this monastery looks like a fortified fortress with powerful walls and towers.

Inside it, the Church of the Holy Mother of God rises in the center, and next to it is a smaller church. It is here that inside is the entrance to a deep well, sort of like the very one where Gregory the Illuminator languished in prison.

It’s worth it to climb, although it’s not so simple. Usually, a queue is drawn from those who want to get down.

The monastery itself and the surrounding area offer excellent views from the neighboring cliff. The monastery is located near the border with Turkey. On the other side is a huge cemetery that is still operating. From above it looks more like a village, and its more ancient part is a lot of randomly scattered gravestones and is clearly visible from above.

In Khor Virap, I wanted to stay longer, but we had little time and now we are in a hurry further. After 100 kilometers, our car turns off the main road towards the Noravank Monastery.

It was built at the expense of the local princes Orbelianov about seven centuries ago. This monastery is very unusual. It is located on a ledge of a rocky gorge with a characteristic reddish color.

The main dominant of the monastery is the unusual two-story church of Surb Astvatsatsin. On its first floor is a family tomb, and on the second - a memorial temple.

You can get to the second floor through a very uncomfortable narrow staircase without a railing. The steps are very high and completely unsafe. You can get to the top only on all fours, go down too. From the outside it looks funny, but this action has its deep meaning, because the path to God cannot be simple.

At the top is a spacious bell tower. And nothing more. This detail concerns the interiors of almost all the churches I have seen here.

The church is unique, there is nothing like it anywhere in the world. The famous local sculptor and architect of the past, Momik, had a hand in building it. Looking at its amazing details and bas-reliefs, you can get stuck in Noravank for a long time.

There is also a lot of khachkars - the famous Armenian stone crosses, which personally reminded me personally of Ireland.

I can not say about one fat minus. Noravank is an amazingly beautiful place, but it was worth looking to the side and it was difficult not to notice the heaps of garbage on the sidelines. How deep the religiosity of the Armenians is combined with the total desire to leave behind heaps of garbage, it is difficult for me to understand.

As soon as we were going to go further, we saw a wedding procession approaching the monastery. At first we were glad to see the Armenian wedding, but then we tensed up. The fact is that, according to local traditions, about 300 guests usually participate in such a celebration. And this time the road from Noravank was completely blocked by a huge number of cars.

We got out of this traffic jam only an hour later, much behind our schedule. We reached the monastery in Tatev already in the evening, barely having time for the last flight of the Krylya Tatev cableway.

Built 7 years ago, this cable car is a great pride of Armenia. In 11 minutes we crossed the picturesque gorge of the Voratan River and found ourselves on its opposite side. The same way by car can be overcome on narrow serpentines in one hour. The ultimate goal of our trip was Tatev Monastery. This complex of buildings is also unusually beautiful from the side and resembles a magical castle, which grew directly on sharp cliffs.

Near the entrance to the monastery, locals sell all sorts of delicacies. With the advent of the cable car, their business is booming here.

The monastery is more than 11 centuries old. Once Tatev was a major educational center. The university was located here and at the same time lived up to 1000 people. This idyll was destroyed by the warriors of Tamerlane, who burned the monastery almost six centuries ago.

The relative inaccessibility of Tatev played a cruel joke with the monastery. This beautiful place for a long time was almost completely abandoned. Time and earthquakes did not spare him.

Now everything is changing rapidly. The monastery is gradually gaining its former features.

It was exciting to wander through its deserted rooms with magnificent views of the gorge and the surrounding mountains. This place has a magical appeal.

By the way, the monastery operates today. True, there are only two monks here. They have enough work. The territory here is large, there are many premises.

At the moment, there is a restoration of a small church, which was built directly on the fortress wall. So in the near future Tatev will become even more attractive to the eyes.

I think now you have at least a little understood how beautiful Armenia is. However, I talked only about a few of its not the most important attractions. For myself, I understood one thing - I want to return to this country, and this says a lot ...

Watch the video: Top 10 Places To Visit in Armenia - Armenia Tourist Attractions - Armenia Travel Video (May 2024).