Location: Ashtarak
Top Things to do in Ashtarak
The 5 Best Free Things to do in Ashtarak, Aragatsotn
Coordinates: 40°17′51″N 44°21′42″E / 40.29750°N 44.36167°E / 40.29750; 44.36167
Restaurants in Ashtarak
1. Karmravor Church
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 26 reviews
Reviewed By Alexander_Kudrin - Samara, Russia
Traveling around Armenia by car, we specially stopped in the city of Ashtarak to see its main attraction - one of the oldest surviving Armenian churches - Karmravor. Translated from Armenian - "reddish". It is believed that the name originated from the color of the tiles. It was founded in the 7th century by the priests Grigor and Manas. The church is small, cruciform with carved cornices, an octagonal drum, and the only one with an old tiled roof. According to an old legend, three sisters living in Ashtarak fell in love with a young man named Sarkis. The older two sisters decide to die, sacrificing themselves for the younger. One of them put on an apricot-colored dress, the other red, and rushed into the gorge. Learning about this, the younger sister, wearing a white dress, also rushed into the gorge, and Sarkis became a hermit out of grief. And on the edge of the cliff, three churches appeared - Spitakavor (whitish), Karmravor (reddish) and Tsiranavor (apricot).
