Vorotnavank

A monastery on a rock ledge above the gorge of the Vorotan river, about seven kilometres from Sisian. The first church was put up here as early as the fifth century, while the surviving core dates from the turn of the tenth and eleventh centuries: the church of St Stephen was founded in the year 1000 by Queen Shahandukht, widow of the king of Syunik, and the church of St Karapet (John the Baptist) went up beside it a few years later. In the Middle Ages Vorotnavank was not only a monastery but also the burial place of the rulers of Syunik and a centre of manuscript copying. The earthquake of 1931 brought down the dome and part of the walls, so today the complex is half ruin: the mountains show through the gaps in the masonry, the fallen stone drums lie on the ground, and from them you can see clearly how an Armenian dome was assembled from the inside. The restored church with its conical roof stands next to the untouched rubble, and that contrast is the main impression here. There are no tour buses, the road is unpaved, and the entrance is usually empty.

On the map