Individual / Unforgettable Tour to Shirak Region

• Gusanagyugh (Ditamrots 10th-12th centuries)
• Akhuryan reservoir (border with Turkey)
• Church of St. Astvatsatsin in Jrapi village
•  Jrapi Caravanserai (10th-11th centuries)
• village Haykadzor (border with Turkey, from here we will see Ani and Red Monastery behind barbed wire)
• Yereruik temple (4th-5th centuries)
  

  The first stop of our today's tour is Gusanagyugh. The village was founded in the 1830s by migrants from the Western Armenia. The monuments of prehistoric, pre-Christian and Christian periods have been preserved in Gusanagyugh. Archaeological researches have proven that the village was a major settlement in the ancient times. Gusanagyugh was also a famous place of rulers, which is evidenced by the castle /Ditamrots/ of the 10-12th centuries preserved in the village, which is called by the villagers “Ghula”. Here we will also see an operating church of the 11th century.

  Then we will continue our path along the Akhuryan reservoir up to village Jrapi. A part of the current Armenian-Turkish border passes by water, through the Akhuryan reservoir, for the construction of which in the period from 1975-1982 several villages were relocated, including Shirakavan. In fact, the Armenian-Turkish border passes just through the reservoir (we will see the border behind the barbed wire).

   In Jrapi we will see a caravanserai and a church. The Jrapi caravanserai is located in the territory of today's village of Jrapi and is evidence of the fact that the Ancient Armenia was of great economic and geographical importance and was an important trade center. Caravanserais in the medieval Armenia have been built at the intersections of vivid roads. The construction of caravanserais has already been widespread during the reign of the Arshakuni dynasty, but their mature architectural forms are dated back to the developed Middle Ages, i.e. the 12th-14th centuries. Jrapi caravanserai is a spacious complex, stretched from north to south and built of black hewn tuff of the 11th-12th centuries. The surviving part of the caravanserai is a three-nave hall with a total length of 31 m and a width of 13.65 m. 8 pillars are installed in two rows along the length, which divide the hall into 3 naves connected by arches.

  The caravanserai served as an inn for travelers and merchants from Georgia, who visited the capital of Ancient Armenia, Ani, and the northern provinces.

  The next stop is the border village of Haykadzor, from where Ani can be seen in a distance (we will see Ani behind the barbed wire through binoculars). From here we will also see the Red Monastery of Haykadzor (unfortunately, also behind the barbed wire).

  Our last point is the unforgettable temple Yereruyk or St. Karapet Church. The temple is one of the most important monuments of the Armenian architecture of the early Middle Ages. The echoes of the ancient Sasanian and early Eastern Christian traditions are noticeable in the architectural, artistic and construction solutions of the church. 

  According to the legend, the name "Yereruyk" originates from the verb "yereral", which in translation from Armenian means "to hover", "to swing". Another version of the origin of the name is associated with the hunting of herbivores common in this area (in Armenian - "yere"). The word "yereruyk" is also associated with the root "araruyk", which comes from the Armenian word "ararel", meaning "to create".

  There is no chronicle information about the temple. The factual materials are also extremely scarce. The only mention of the temple is associated with its reconstruction carried out in the 11th century. According to the record, the wife of King Hovhannes-Smbat made a donation for the restoration of the temple.

  The temple stands on a stepped stylobate and is built of light orange Ani tuff. The temple consisted of a three-nave chapel, a semicircular main altar on the eastеrn side, sacristies on its right and left sides, rooms in the two corners of the western facade and outer colonnades on three sides - southern, western and northern. The temple had three entrances, one from the west and two from the south, as well as many large windows.

  The complex includes the remains of a number of structures. The basilica is in the center, a part of the wall is from its northern, eastern and southern sides, a grave field with many square pedestals (mostly children are buried here), residential premises, a barn, premises carved in the rock are in the southwestern side of the basilica. The complex also included an artificial reservoir, the remains of the dam of which were discovered during excavations. A five-line Greek lithograph, which in translation means "To Your house, Lord, Belongs Holiness for Many Days", can be seen in the eastern part of the southern facade of the basilica, on the south-eastern sacristy. This is a line from the Psalter, which was read during the consecration of the temple, and such inscriptions were often made on the walls of churches in the 5th-7th centuries.

  
  

  Departure: 10:00

  Arrival: 20:00

  Departure place: Hakob Hakobyan str. 1

  Total distance: 250 km

1 person - 50.000 AMD,

2-3 persons - 35.000 AMD,

4-10 persons - 25.000 AMD,

11-20 persons - 20.000 AMD,

21-30 persons - 10.000 AMD