Old Meghri

Meghri lies in a deep gorge in the far south of Armenia, a few kilometres from the Iranian border. The town is squeezed between bare rocky ranges, but an almost subtropical climate holds at the bottom of the valley: pomegranates, figs, persimmons and grapes ripen here, and the gardens come right up to the houses. The historic core falls into two old quarters, Mets Tagh and Pokr Tagh, built up in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. The houses are made of river stone and mudbrick, stand in steps up the slope and often have wooden balconies facing the gorge; the streets between them are narrow, with steep staircases and retaining walls. Two domed churches of the seventeenth century, Surb Hovhannes and Surb Astvatsatsin, rise above the quarters, while remains of walls and watchtowers that guarded the road to Persia survive on the ridges. A small river runs through the town, and the main street with the market stretches along it. From the upper terraces you can see the roofs running down and the jagged peaks of the Zangezur range rising behind them.

You can walk around the quarters freely, as these are ordinary residential streets, but comfortable shoes come in handy because of the steep staircases. In summer it is hot in the gorge, and it is more pleasant in spring and autumn, when pomegranates and figs ripen in the gardens. The way from Yerevan is long, five to six hours of hairpin bends, so Meghri is usually combined with a trip to the Iranian border or to Tatev.

Address

Meghri

On the map