Tatev Monastery

Tatev Monastery stands on a rocky spur above the gorge of the Vorotan River, in the south of Armenia, in the province of Syunik. The monastery was founded in the ninth century on the site of an earlier sanctuary, and by the tenth century it had already become the centre of the diocese of Syunik, and later the largest medieval university in Armenia, where theology, philosophy, music and manuscript illumination were taught. The main church of Surb Poghos-Petros, consecrated in 906, sets the whole silhouette of the complex: a heavy dome on a tall drum, smooth planes of grey stone walls and an almost complete absence of carving apart from a few insets. Nearby stand the church of Surb Grigor Lusavorich, the bell tower and the residential and service ranges, and all of it is enclosed by a fortress wall, for the monastery withstood sieges and earthquakes more than once. In the courtyard stands the swaying pillar Gavazan, an octagonal column with a khachkar which, according to tradition, would lean at underground tremors. A cable car across the gorge leads to the monastery, but you can also come up by the hairpin road from the village of Halidzor. The most spectacular way to get there is the Wings of Tatev cable car over the Vorotan gorge, one of the longest passenger cableways in the world; the alternative is the hairpin road from the village of Halidzor. The monastery is active, entry is free, and modest covering clothing is required. It is convenient to combine the visit with the Devil's Bridge lower down the gorge.

On the map