Church of Surb Astvatsatsin in Meghri

The church of Surb Astvatsatsin stands in the upper, northern part of Meghri, on a terrace above the roofs and gardens of the town. It was built in 1673 of local dark basalt, while the drum and the dome were raised in brick, as was the custom in Syunik in the seventeenth century. In type it is a domed basilica with two entrances, a western and a southern one; from outside the building looks emphatically plain, and its only ornament is a stone ram's head by the window of the southern facade. A small bell tower in the form of a square brick rotunda with a four-sided finish is set on the roof, which makes the church recognisable from afar. The main treasure is hidden inside: the walls and vaults are covered all over with nineteenth-century painting, where biblical scenes sit next to carpet-like plant ornament, while the blue and ochre tones betray the influence of Persian art, as the border with Iran is a few kilometres away. The courtyard is enclosed by a dry stone wall, beyond which a bare slope begins, and from the porch there is a view of the Meghri range.

The church is active but not always open: the key is kept at the church, and for the sake of the paintings you sometimes have to ask the keeper to let you inside. Clothing should be modest and covering. Meghri is the far south of Armenia by the Iranian border, and the road here from Yerevan takes five to six hours, so the church is usually seen together with the old quarters of the town.

Address

Հայրենադարձների, Meghri

On the map