How to get to Garni from Yerevan. Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery. How to get to Garni, Geghard and Cherents Arch from Yerevan

The monastery was erected in the fourth century, in the place where the so-called sacred spring used to be.

Excursions to the monastery

Using the services of an experienced guide, you can learn many interesting facts about the building, myths, legends and true stories. It is said that in addition to religious buildings, the complex included living quarters. Now, 6 main structures of the complex can be brought to your attention, namely:
1. Katoghike. This is the main building within the entire complex, it is the most revered. Its architecture delights all visitors. You will be able to see with your own eyes an interesting, unique carving.
2. Gavit. A room that is closely connected with the main church.
3. Church with a spring. It is unique in that it is dug right into the rock.
4. Zhamatun. Another room inside the rock topped with carved reliefs.
5. Zhamatun (upper). In other words, this is the tomb of two famous princes Merik and Grigor.
6. Chapel of Saint Gregory. Relatively new building, 1177.
You can see all this with your own eyes, feel the ancient atmosphere and look at the amazing architecture.

How to get to Geghard on your own

It will be most comfortable to depart from. Your own car is best, of course, as you will pass many scenic spots and get out to take some photos. But, nevertheless, in order not to get lost, it is better to go with a tour, they will take you, tell interesting facts, show the most impressive and take you back. As for the buses, none of them will bring you to this particular attraction, but you can get to the final stop for little money, and then walk. The village of Garni can become a landmark, from it you need to move along an asphalt road, which is provided specifically for tourists heading to the sights. The road will lead you straight to the gorge along the Azat River. The monastery is located there, and besides it, there are many more beautiful, ancient buildings that will certainly impress any visitor.

The famous cave monastery HAYRIVANK or GEGHARD is located on the slope of a majestic sheer cliff, located in the most picturesque basin of the Garni River gorge.

According to historians, in the 4th century, there was a cave monastery Ayrivank in the gorge. However, not a single building of this monastery has been preserved. Only the chroniclers can find information about the majestic temples of the monastery, the comfortable dwellings of the monastic brethren and the numerous outbuildings in which travelers have always found shelter. However, in the 10th-11th centuries, the monastery was repeatedly attacked by invaders, and in 923 it was looted and burned. All the original buildings of the monastery perished, but new buildings were built in their place in subsequent centuries. At the very entrance to the hollow there is a half-cave chapel dedicated to the first Christian preacher and Catholicos of Armenia, GRIGOR LUSAVORIC (Gregory the Illuminator), carved in 1177.

The existing ensemble belongs to the XII-XIII centuries. Church legends associate the name Geghard with the spear kept here, which pierced Christ on the cross. Now the tip of this spear is kept in the Etchmiadzin Museum.

The main church of the KATOGIKE complex was built in 1215 by the founders of the Zakharid dynasty, whose family coat of arms - a lion tormenting a bull - is carved above the door of the Katoghike temple. This building is typical of the Middle Ages with a domed hall, the plan of which is a cross inscribed in a rectangle. At the corners of the hall there are four two-storey chapels of the chapel. Hanging (console) stairs lead to the second floor. The usual architectural composition here is brought to perfection. It is distinguished by proportionality and elegance of decoration. The composition of the monument is dominated by the vertical line. The aspiration upwards is also emphasized by the elongated shape of the drum with narrow and long niches, which are covered with elegant lace trim, and the location of the main decorations of the temple vertically. The dome of the building looks very elegant. The drum of the dome is framed by paired semi-columns connected by graceful arches. The walls are decorated with fine carvings. Here, floral and geometric ornaments are combined with three-dimensional images of birds and animals, as well as human masks. Particularly expressive is the transition from the twilight of the lower part of the room to the light-saturated high domed space. The continuation of the main church is the vestibule or ZHAMATUN, built in 1225. This is a large rectangular hall, in the center of which there are four powerful columns, turning into eight arches supporting the dome of the building. The dome consists of nine different vaults. All parts of the dome are richly carved with various ornaments. The overlapping of the central part of the building, ending with a light window - a yerdik, is distinguished by a special elegance of decoration.

In the northern wall of the vestibule, which is replaced by a rock, there are two entrances that lead to the most original part of the monastery. The left door of the vestibule leads to the main rock temple. Although it is entirely carved into the rock, it is well lit through a skylight cut through the ceiling. The church has a clear architectural appearance. Half-columns, intersecting arches, and deep vaulted niches bordered by figured arches have been carved here. The walls are covered with fine carvings. Both the dome of the church and the ceiling of the narthex are richly decorated with ornaments. An icy spring splashes on the floor. At the edge of the light hole, the name of the builder who gave the world this masterpiece of stone carving art is carved.

Through the right door you can get into the cave structure, which consists of two rooms. The front one was the tomb of the princely family of Prosha. Here, above the arch, their emblem is carved: a bull's head, to which two lions are tied, between the lions is an eagle with a lamb in its claws. The western wall is decorated with semi-columns with arches, the eastern one - with a large ornamented cross between the door and a small chapel. Another room is the church ASTVATTSATSIN (THE MOTHER OF GOD). The church is well lit by light from the opening at the top of the dome. The drum is especially graceful. It is divided by arches into twelve parts and passes into four arches, covered with rows of carved shamrocks, going in a checkerboard pattern, like a honeycomb. The arches rest on slender semi-columns, which adorn the inner corners of the walls of the church, forming a cross in plan. The altar niche is on a raised platform and is decorated with rhombus ornaments, semi-columns with arches and an excellent cornice. On its sides, two khachkars are carved in the walls. The whole church is richly decorated with carvings.

Astvatsatsin Church has three aisles, two near the altar, and the third in the northern wing. Of these, only the south wing is placed so close to the surface that the builders there cut a window through which the church of Katoghike is visible. A steep outer staircase has been cut along the rock, leading to various structures inside the rocks.

In 1288, a ten-meter corridor was cut through the rock, the walls of which were decorated with khachkars carved on the walls. The corridor ends with a large rectangular hall. This is a spacious room with four columns in the middle, connected by arches to each other and to the walls. It is illuminated through a hole in the dome. However, it is light there only in the summer, and only when the sun is high overhead. Obviously, such lighting is explained by the fact that the room served as a tomb.

It is still unclear how these underground structures were cut through. Here it was necessary to make very complex calculations, and most importantly, to work without marriage: after all, any careless movement of the hand of a stonemason could lead to a flaw that could be eliminated in a ground building by replacing a stone, which could not be done in cave rooms. Indeed, everything here is thought out, weighed and carefully executed. Since all carved rooms have a light hole at the top of the central vault, it can be assumed that all work on the creation of these unique structures in the rocks began from it.

Geghard Monastery was a well-known spiritual center of medieval Armenia for many years. It was also one of the centers of writing. Numerous manuscripts were written, copied, decorated with miniatures here. The monastery also had a rich library. It also had its own school. There are cave cells on both sides of the monastery walls. The churches of Geghard Monastery have been standing for 700 years. In recent years, dwellings for monks, the monastery courtyard, and a refectory have only been improved.

The fortress of Garni is mentioned by Tacitus in connection with the events in Armenia in the first half of the 1st century. n. e. It was built by the Armenian king Trdat I (54-88) in 76, as evidenced by his inscription found there in Greek: “Helios! Trdat the Great, sovereign of Great Armenia, when the ruler built agarak for the queen (and) this impregnable fortress in the eleventh year of his reign ... "

This inscription is mentioned by Movses Khorenatsi, who attributed it, as well as the reconstruction of the fortress, to Trdat III the Great (286-330). The fortress of Garni is one of the clearest evidence of the centuries-old culture of the pre-Christian period of Armenia. Garni fortress began to be built in the 2nd century BC and continued to be built up during the ancient era and partly in the Middle Ages. Ultimately, the Armenian rulers made it impregnable. The citadel protected the inhabitants from foreign invasions for more than 1000 years.

The Armenian kings loved this place very much - and not only because of its impregnability, but also because of the amazing climate - and turned it into their summer residence. Garni Fortress is located 28 km from the capital of Armenia - Yerevan. Strategically, the location of Garni was chosen extremely well. According to the Urartian cuneiform writing found on the territory of Garni, this fortress was conquered by the Urartian king Argishti in the first half of the 8th century BC, after which he gathered the population of Garni as a labor force and headed towards modern Yerevan, where he built the Erebuni fortress, which later became Yerevan.

Garni Fortress occupies a triangular cape dominating the surrounding area, encircled by the Azat River from two sides, a deep gorge, and steep slopes serve as an impregnable natural boundary. The gorge is notable for its amazing, seemingly artificial slopes, which consist of regular hexagonal prisms. The latter stretch from the foot to the top of the gorge and are called "Symphony of Stones". In the rest of the fortress, a powerful defensive system was created - a mighty fortress wall with fourteen towers.

In the area where the approach to the fortress was complicated by natural conditions, there are fewer towers, they are placed at a distance of 25-32 m from each other. And where the enemy could approach the walls relatively unhindered, the towers were erected more often and were located at a distance of 10-13.5 m from each other. The towers were rectangular. Rectangular towers have existed on the Armenian Highlands since Urartian times.

Both the fortress walls and the towers were built from large blocks of local bluish basalt, without mortar and connected with iron brackets, the corners of the connection were filled with lead. The fortress walls are 2.07-2.12 m thick and 314.28 m long along the entire perimeter (together with the towers). In some places, 12-14 rows up to 6-7 m high have been preserved. a gate as wide as one chariot. At the same time, the number of troops in the fortress was huge.

Palace complex

The temple is built from blocks of smooth-hewn basalt. The stones are about two meters long, fastened with staples and pins. The temple is built in Hellenistic architectural forms. Nine massive steps 30 centimeters high stretch across the entire width of the facade, which give the building majesty and solemnity. The pylons on the sides of the stairs are decorated with reliefs. They depict naked Atlanteans, standing on one knee, with arms raised up, supporting altars.

The temple throughout its composition is a peripter. The plan is a rectangular hall with a portico surrounded by columns from the outside. The details of the temple, in contrast to the uniformity found in Greco-Roman structures, are designed with the diversity inherent in local art. Along with numerous variants of the acanthus leaf, Armenian motifs were introduced into the ornaments: pomegranate, grapes, hazel leaves, flowers. Basalt carving testifies to the first-class work of Armenian craftsmen. A shallow vestibule leads to the rectangular vaulted sanctuary; the entrance is decorated with a richly ornamented casing. The shrine is small. There was only a statue of a deity here. This small temple served the king and his family.

As a result of a strong earthquake in 1679, the temple was almost completely destroyed, it was restored in 1966-1976. Near the temple, the remains of an ancient fortress and the royal palace, as well as a bath building built in the 3rd century, have been preserved. The palace complex was located on the southern, remote from the entrance, part of the fortress. The northern fortified territory housed the royal army and service personnel. To the west of the temple, at the edge of the cliff, was the main hall. From the north, a two-story residential building adjoined it. Traces of pink and red paint preserved on the plaster are reminiscent of the rich decoration of the residential and ceremonial chambers of the palace. The bath building included at least five rooms for various purposes, of which four had apses at the ends. The floors are decorated with Hellenistic mosaics.

In the 19th century, the ruins of the temple attracted the attention of numerous scientists and travelers, such as Chardin, Morier, Ker-Porter, Telfer, Chantre, Shnaaze, Marr, Smirnov, Romanov, Buniatyan, Trever, Manandyan. The French scientist Dubois de Montpere in 1834 tried to make a project for the reconstruction of the temple with approximate accuracy. At the end of the 19th century, the idea arose to transport all the details of the temple to Tiflis, the center of the Caucasian viceroy, and put it here in front of the palace of the royal governor. Fortunately, this idea failed due to the lack of appropriate means of transportation.

At the beginning of the 20th century, archaeological work was carried out to discover details and measure the temple by a small expedition led by N. Ya. Marr. In the early 1930s, the chief architect of Yerevan, N. G. Buniatyan, examined the Garni temple and already in 1933 gave a project for the reconstruction of its original appearance. Academician I. A. Orbeli was also interested in the issue of restoring the pagan temple in Garni. In the mid-60s, restoration work was entrusted to the architect A. A. Sainyan. For almost 10 years, wonderful Armenian craftsmen have been painstakingly working. Restoring the temple was no easier than building it, it was necessary to find the place of each surviving stone. Garni temple was completely restored in 1976.

Tourists

The address

Armenia, pos. Garni.

How to get to Garni temple

Highway H3 to the village of Garni. Garni can be easily reached both by bus and taxi.

By the way, Geghard Monastery is located on the same road as the Garni temple. Both sights can be easily visited in one day.

If you plan to visit Yerevan, be sure to free up a whole day in your schedule to visit probably the most amazing sights not only in Yerevan, but probably in all of Armenia: Garni Temple, Geghard Monastery and the basalt organ.

Although, of course, there are still many amazing places in Armenia. But those sights that will be discussed below are in close proximity to the capital of Armenia. Only 15-20 km.

So: a map and a description of how to get there by public transport is in mine. It briefly describes where and which minibus to take and where to get off. All major points are on the map. The map is duplicated below, and below I will describe in detail your actions if you decide to go not by taxi, but by minibus.

How to get to the Temple of Garni and the basalt gorge:

We decided to postpone the payment to the territory of the Temple for the time being, and first go to the basalt gorge (basalt organ), which is located right there in 1 kilometer. If you stand facing the entrance to the Temple of Garni, not reaching 30 meters before it, on the left you can see the path down. Here you go. Along the winding path, we quickly went down. And in 30 minutes we reached one of the wonders of the world - the basalt gorge.

There are not so many of them all over the world, and the views are truly mesmerizing. Surprisingly, there are no tourists at all, in general from the word at all. There are very few reports about this gorge, but I strongly recommend adding this point to your visit. You will not regret. On the map above, the gorge is marked.

Life hack: local taxi drivers offer to take you to the basalt gorge and back for 5000 drams on the Niva. Don't get fooled. The road is not difficult and not long, even people who have poor physical fitness will master it.

Life hack: When you climb back to the Temple of Garni, at the last turn, the usual path will go the other way to the top. you there. And after 100 meters you will find yourself on the site in front of the Garni Temple for free. Save $2.5 per person.

The Temple of Garni was built by the Armenian king in the first century AD. When you look at the temple, it seems that you are in Greece.

- Plagiarism?

- No, they didn't.

This is how the Armenians answer the question about the similarity with ancient Greek architecture). Everyone will draw their own conclusions. The views from the temple grounds are simply amazing. A must to visit!

Geghard Monastery is located 6 km from Garni Temple. Public transport does not go there. You can get there in two ways: on foot (doubtful pleasure) and taxi. Taxi can be found near the entrance to Garni Temple. The cost is from 5 to 10 dollars per car.

You will be taken, they will wait there and bring you back to the Temple, and for an additional fee they can take you to Yerevan. Taxi in Armenia is not expensive, and you can always use it without damaging your wallet. Read about prices in Armenia and Yerevan at.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: below are the main resources that help us organize any independent trip (immediately add the necessary to your bookmarks):

Air travel: is the largest meta search engine for airline tickets in Runet. Search for 100 airlines including low-cost airlines.

Hotels with discount:- high-quality and convenient hotel search engine. Compares prices from all booking sites, including booking, ostrovok and shows where is cheaper. Personally, we always book accommodation only here.

Ready tours: and - the two largest aggregators of ready-made tours to all countries of Europe and Asia without going to the office.

Car rental:— convenient car rental service. — pretty cheap car rental in Europe. Any service of your choice.

Medical insurance for tourists:— convenient insurance for those traveling abroad. 4-5$ for extended insurance in the Schengen zone. Insurance works even in Zanzibar - personally verified 🙂

visit Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery is the first thing that comes to mind when interesting places in Yerevan have already been explored. They are located to the east of the capital, and the journey here will just take half a day to a day.

Temple of Garni

This temple is the only monument in Armenia dating back to the era of paganism and Hellenism. That is, it was built before the country adopted Christianity (the first in the world). That is why Garni is fundamentally different from all other religious buildings, more like a piece of ancient Greece right in the middle of the Armenian hills.

The temple is dedicated to the pagan sun god Mithra and was built in the 1st century AD. This is such antiquity! It is even more surprising how exactly he was able to survive, because after the adoption of Christianity, all pagan temples were destroyed.

Garni fortress began to be built even before our era. in an impregnable place on a rocky ledge on the banks of the Azat River. It was from here that the Urartian king advanced towards Yerevan, where he founded another fortress - Erebuni, which later became the capital.

Azat river gorge

The base of the temple is a high basalt podium that can only be reached by a steep staircase. Externally, Garni is very similar to the temple in Athens: a triangular roof and 24 giant columns.

Garni Armenia

It is noteworthy that the walls and ceilings are very skillfully decorated - even then the Armenian sculpture masters were at their best.

In the 17th century, a strong earthquake occurred here and the pagan temple of Garni was badly destroyed, its pieces were scattered along the river gorge. But thanks to the hard work of the scientist and local residents, the structure was restored.

Near the sanctuary, you can see the remains of a bathhouse, the royal palace and a fortress, and if you go down to the river, you can see unusual hexagonal prisms of regular shape in the rocks.

Entrance fee to Garni:

1200 AMD per person (1500 evening visit). Excursion in a foreign language 2500 AMD. Every last Saturday of the month, admission is free for everyone.

For citizens of Armenia: AMD 250 per adult / AMD 100 per child under 18.

Opening hours of the Garni Museum:

Sunday: 09:00 to 15:00

After Garni, we caught a local bus to the nearest village, from where we had to walk 4 km to the Geghard monastery. I didn’t want to take a taxi - the places are beautiful! But while walking along the road along the villages, we ate mulberry berries, apples, cherry plums. It's a pity that the grapes haven't ripened yet, otherwise they would have decimated it ;-) The places are really cool.

Geghard is one of the most popular attractions in Armenia, and is included in the UNESCO heritage list. The name translates as “spear”, because, as the legend says, the spear that pierced Jesus Christ during the crucifixion was kept here.

The first monastery on this site was founded in the 4th century, but later it was destroyed by the Arabs. Now there are several churches in the monastery complex, including a cave church with a spring. Armenian churches are all characterized by ascetic decoration, unlike Russian Orthodox churches. But in Geghard, it’s just like a peasant severely, especially in a rock with a spring: muffled light and twilight, somewhere in the darkness a spring with cold water gurgles….

People stand in line to get water, you have to highlight the phone - you can’t see anything.

The main church is called Katoghike

Geghard Monastery Armenia

And the extension from the west, attached to the rock - Gavit. It was used for gathering, teaching and receiving pilgrims.

We were very impressed by the stone carving inside - very skillfully and beautifully carved.

Garni somehow didn’t impress us much, but Geghard is harsh, but handsome. Very atmospheric place, be sure to go to these places.

How to get to Garni and Geghard?

There are minibuses (No. 266) and buses (No. 284) from Yerevan to the Temple of Garni. They leave from a small bus station behind the Mercedes dealership. From Mashtots Avenue in the center you can get there by 51 city minibuses. The cost of buses to Garni is 250 drams, the journey takes half an hour, and they depart every hour.

In the village itself, you will be dropped off on the main road, from where you will need to go right about 500 meters to the entrance to the complex.

Public transport does not go to Geghard Monastery, and from Garni to Geghard is about 10 km. Taxi drivers will catch you on the main road, offering to go to the monastery and back for 2000 drams - a good price. Or you can catch bus number 284 there to the village of Goght, from where you can walk another 4 km or hitchhike.

The most comfortable option is to arrange a taxi in Yerevan. There and back they will charge about 10 thousand drams per car (80 km in total).