Garni Armenia attractions. We travel around Armenia. Return to Yerevan

The Geghard Cave Monastery is one of the most visited attractions in Armenia. It, like the rocky cliffs around the shrine, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Armenian travel agencies actively bring tourists here. But it is much cheaper to come to Geghard on your own. This way you can spend as much time in the monastery as you want.

And then, you have the opportunity to stay here and explore the beautiful gorge of the Gokht River, a tributary of the Azat. Nearby there is a restaurant with excellent cuisine and affordable prices. And just downstream of the Azat River is the unique Garni plateau.

But how to get to the wild Geghard gorge and its monastery? We will answer this question in this article. We will also tell you how to make the most of your day by going on an independent one-day excursion to one of the most famous shrines of Armenia.

Why is the monastery called that?

The full name of the monastery is Geghardavank. From Armenian it is translated as “monastery of the spear.” But one should not think that the monastery was inhabited by warlike monks-knights like the Templars. The monastery of Geghard received its name because of the spear of the Roman legionnaire Longinus, with which he pierced the body of the crucified Jesus Christ on Golgotha.

The Instrument of the Passion of the Lord is revered as a relic. The Spear of Longinus (according to legend) was brought from Jerusalem himself. For a long time, the relic was kept away from the bustle of the world.

But if you are a zealous believer and go to Geghardavank only to bow to the spear of Longinus, we have to disappoint you. This item (whether it was an instrument of the Passion or not has not been proven) is now kept in the museum where the throne of the Supreme Catholicos of the Armenians is also located. This monastery is located in the city of Vagharshalat.

History of the Geghard Monastery

As the legend says, this place was developed by hermits at the dawn of Christianity in Armenia on the initiative of St. Gregory the Illuminator. But historians date the foundation of the monastery to the fourth century.

A spring begins in one of the caves. Hard-to-reach rocks and the presence of fresh water at hand attracted monks to the gorge, fleeing the bustle of the world in monasteries.

The first hermits dug cells directly into the soft rock. Therefore, the monastery was first called Ayrivank, that is, “cave monastery.” Later, above-ground buildings also appeared. These were temples and utility buildings.

But in the 9th and 10th centuries the monastery was seriously damaged by Arab raids. Particularly destructive was the seizure of the monastery by the vice-regent of the Arab caliph Nasr in 923. The monastery also suffered from frequent earthquakes.

A huge contribution to the revival of this monastery was made by the military leaders of the Queen of Georgia Tamara, Ivan and Zakare Zakoryan, who liberated the region from the Seljuks at the beginning of the 13th century. Their descendants (Khakhbakyans and Proshyans) continued to patronize the rock shrine. Therefore, it became their ancestral tomb.

Where is the Geghard monastery located? How to get from Yerevan to this attraction

The monastery is located just 40 kilometers east of the capital of Armenia. If you are planning a one-day independent excursion, then Geghard can be seen in conjunction with the equally famous Garni Temple. Moreover, minibuses from Yerevan go only to this town.

But first you need to get to the bus station. City minibus No. 51 goes there from the central Mashtots Avenue. Travel to the town of Garni costs 250 drams. Minibuses depart every hour.

In 30 minutes you are already there. From Garni to the Geghard monastery, the walk is about eight kilometers. Half of the journey can be done by bus number 284, going to the village of Gokht.

The road is very beautiful, flat, laid along the gorge with a serpentine road. For those pedestrians who want to shorten their route, there are trails.

It's hard to lose your way. You should focus on the large sculpture of a lioness, visible from afar. And immediately behind it a wonderful panorama of Geghardavank opens.

What to see in Garni. Temple of Mithra

Having arrived in the mountain town, you should not immediately rush to the Geghard monastery. There is only one pagan temple preserved in Armenia, and it is located in Garni. It’s like a piece of ancient Greece in the middle of the Caucasus Mountains: columns, portico, high steps...

The temple dedicated to Mithra was built in the first century AD. Its remoteness served him as good protection, because with the evangelization of Armenia, all pagan buildings were destroyed.

The temple is the only thing left of the once formidable stronghold, which was erected on the impregnable Garni plateau by the king of Urartu Trdat the First - the same one who founded the city of Erebuni, modern Yerevan. Near the temple of Mithra you can see the ruins of ancient fortress walls, baths, and a palace.

The temple is very elaborately decorated with carvings. It is also worth going down the gorge to the Azat River to see the “musical organ” formed by nature from lava flows. Therefore, the Garni plateau is also called the “symphony of stones”.

Mashtots Hayrapet Church

The Temple of Mithra is not the only attraction of the town. Honor the Christian shrine of Garni with a visit. The church was erected on the site of a pagan khachkar - a stone dotted with petroglyphs.

In the 9th century, the Christian ascetic Patriarch Mashtots was buried here, and three centuries later a temple was built over his grave. Its dome and facade, as well as the interior of the tomb, are decorated with skillful carvings, similar to those that can be seen in the Geghard rock monastery.

A visit to the Garni Museum is paid - 1200 drams per person. But if you arrive there on the last Saturday of the month, admission is free. But for a tour in a foreign language you will still have to pay two and a half thousand drams.

What to see in Geghardavank. Chapel of Gregory the Illuminator

If you are short on time, you can not stop in Garni, but immediately take a taxi. A car trip along the route Yerevan - Geghard Monastery - Yerevan will cost you ten thousand drams (1,270 rubles at the exchange rate), which is quite inexpensive if you load four of you there. The first step is to stop at the lioness sculpture at a sharp turn in the road to take a panoramic photo of the entire monastery.

The oldest building of the monastery stands separately from it and quite high above the road. This is the chapel of Gregory the Illuminator. It was built around 1175. Around it rise grave khachkars decorated with carvings.

In the chapel itself, fragments of medieval frescoes have been preserved. Having examined them, we go down to the gates of the monastery. Pay attention to the ramparts. Despite the inaccessibility of the monastery, the monks, to help the steep terrain, erected a high wall on three sides.

Katogike

Geghardavank consists of both cave structures cut into the rock and above-ground buildings. The latter includes Katoghike. This is the main church of the Geghard monastery .

Despite the fact that the spear of Longinus is no longer kept there, the temple is still very revered. The layout of the building is based on an equal-armed cross. Two-story chapels are located in the corners of the church. Some of them are connected to the caves by covered passages, which makes the temple the heart of the entire monastery complex.

You should pay attention to the gate located on the southern facade. The tympanum is decorated with stone bunches of grapes, pomegranate fruits, human faces, and doves. Above the gate is a bas-relief depicting a lion attacking a bull. This scene carved in stone symbolizes the power of the prince.

The interior of the church is decorated in an ascetic but impressive manner. Everywhere you can see khachkars - dedicatory or funeral stones, covered with skillful carvings. Divine services are held in Katoghik, candles and lamps are lit.

Gavit

For a long time, the Geghard monastery was the center of education in Armenia. People came here who wanted not only to get away from the bustle of the world, but also to know God. For their education, a sacristy adjacent to the rock was built on the western side of the Katoghike church at the beginning of the 13th century.

There the novices received religious education. The natural lighting of this room is interesting. There are no windows in this sacristy, only there is a round hole in the middle of the ceiling. The stone vault is supported by four columns dividing the room into aisles.

The center of the sacristy is crowned with a dome with “stalactites” - this is the best example of such architectural technique in Armenia. The interior of the gavit is no less impressive than the church. Everything there is also covered with carvings, candles are burning. The harsh, ascetic, but sublime beauty of this place tunes the soul in a special way.

Avazan Church

Let’s not forget that Geghard is a monastery in the rock, and therefore we will not ignore the cave buildings. After all, the first cells of hermits dug into the rock. It is believed that the monastery on this site did not arise by chance.

Even in pagan times, people came here to worship the nymph of the miraculous spring. The water has not dried up to this day. Now it is proclaimed miraculous by the Christian Church. And if you believe in this, stock up on some container and go to the Avazan Cave Church.

Its name translates as “reservoir”. This is the first temple of the monastery, which was completely carved into the rock in the 1240s right above the source. To get water, you need to stand in a long line.

From Avazan you can get to the tomb (Zhamatun) of the Proshyan family, as well as the second cave church dedicated to the Mother of God - Astvatsatsin. These buildings were carved in the second half of the 13th century. In the last temple frescoes depicting angels have been preserved.

On the territory of the monastery complex there are separately dug zhamatuns, in which representatives of the princely families (Grigora and Merika, Ruzakana and Papaka) are buried. It will also be interesting to walk through the enfilade of cave cells, which descend to the church with high staircases carved directly into the rock.

Where do you think this temple is? Greece, Athens? Or Italy, Rome? Well, maybe at least in Syria? Everything is wrong. It's actually much closer than you think.

Let me tell you his story in more detail...

In the town of Garni (Armenia), on the edge of a fantastically beautiful mountain gorge, at the bottom of which the fast Azat River has been paving its way for many thousands of years, stands an extraordinary monument of Armenian history - a real Hellenistic temple. Strict Ionic columns, amazingly precise proportions, symmetry, rich ornamentation on stone... The temple in Garni is an excellent example of a Greco-Roman peripterus, a kind of simplified Parthenon. It seems surprising that this pagan temple stands on the territory of Armenia, the country that was the first in the world to officially adopt Christianity as a state religion.

Historians attribute the construction of the temple to King Trdat I (reigned in the second half of the 1st century), who at one time paid a friendly visit to Rome. In even more ancient times, Garni served as a fortress for the Urartian king Argishti I. And from the 3rd century. BC. Until the 4th century, the summer residence of the Armenian kings (Ervandids, Artashesids and Arsacids) was located here. The fortress was also affected by the devastating campaigns of the Roman legions across Armenia in the 1st century. For some time there was even an opinion that the French word “garrison” was born here: supposedly Mark Antony wrote a letter to Cleopatra saying that he had built a military camp near Garni - a garrison. But this is just a beautiful “etymological illusion”.

The Garni fortress is mentioned by Tacitus in connection with events in Armenia in the first half of the 1st century. n. e. It was built by the Armenian king Trdat I in 76, as evidenced by his inscription in Greek discovered there:

“Helios! Trdat the Great, sovereign of Great Armenia, when the ruler built this impregnable fortress for the queen in the eleventh year of his reign...”

This inscription is mentioned by Movses Khorenatsi, who attributed it, as well as the reconstruction of the fortress, to Trdat III the Great. The Garni fortress is one of the clearest evidence of the centuries-old culture of the pre-Christian period of Armenia. Garni fortress began to be built in the 2nd century BC and continued to be built during the ancient era and partly in the Middle Ages. Ultimately, the Armenian rulers made it impregnable. The citadel protected residents from foreign invasions for more than 1000 years.

The Armenian kings loved this place very much - not only because of its inaccessibility, but also because of the amazing climate - and turned it into their summer residence. The Garni fortress is located 28 km from the capital of Armenia - Yerevan. Strategically, the location of Garni was chosen extremely well. According to the Urartian cuneiform found on the territory of Garni, this fortress was conquered by the Urartian king Argishti in the first half of the 8th century BC, after which he gathered the population of Garni as a workforce and headed towards modern Yerevan, where he built the Erebuni fortress, which later became Yerevan.

The Garni fortress was erected in the village of the same name in the Kotayk region. It was a powerful fortification, well known from chronicle sources (Cornelius Tacitus, Movses Khorenatsi and others). The buildings of Garni uniquely combine elements of Hellenistic and national culture, clearly demonstrating both ancient influences and the original building traditions of the Armenian people. The artistic merits and uniqueness of the monuments place Garni among the outstanding works of world significance.

The structures of the Garni fortress are successfully integrated into the surrounding nature. The fortress is located in a picturesque mountainous area, from where there is a wide view of the vast expanses of orchards, fields and mountain slopes covered with colorful carpets of multi-colored grasses, and the bizarre steep stone cliffs of the Azat River canyon.

Strategically, the location of Garni was also extremely well chosen. Even in ancient times, there was a Cyclopean fortress here - Berdshen (III millennium BC). According to cuneiform writing found on the territory of Garni, this fortress was conquered in the first half of the 8th century BC. Urartian king Argishti I. During the era of the Armenian rulers from the dynasty of Ervandids, Artashesids and Arsacids (from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD), Garni served as the residence of the kings and the location of their troops.

The Garni fortress occupies a triangular cape, dominating the surrounding area, surrounded by the river on both sides. The deep gorge and steep slopes serve as a natural impregnable boundary, so the fortress wall was erected only on the plain side. It is built from large basalt squares, laid flat dry and fastened with iron clamps filled with lead. Rhythmically placed, rectangular in plan towers and, increasing the efficiency of flanking fire, the concave shape of the middle of the northern wall, the most vulnerable to the enemy, significantly strengthened the defensive capability of the fortress and at the same time enriched its architectural and artistic appearance.

The palace complex included several separately located buildings: a temple, a front and columned hall, a residential building, a bathhouse, etc. They were located around the vast main square of the fortress, in its southern part, remote from the entrance gate, where they formed a unique ensemble. In the northern part, obviously, there were quarters for service personnel, the royal guard and the garrison.

The top of the cape was occupied by a temple, facing the square with its main northern façade. The temple is the artistic center of the complex, located on the main axis passing through the gates of the fortress.

The temple was built in the second half of the 1st century AD. and dedicated to a pagan deity, possibly the sun god Mithras, whose figure stood in the depths of the sanctuary - naos. After the proclamation of the state religion in Armenia in 301 - Christianity, the temple was probably used as a summer room for the kings, called in the chronicle the “house of coolness”.

In style, the temple, which is a six-column peripterum, is close to similar monuments in Asia Minor (Termes, Sagala, Pergamon), Lebanon () and Rome. It is mainly made in Hellenistic architectural forms, but local traditions are also reflected in it. It should be noted that the type of rectangular religious building with columns and pediment was known on the territory of the Armenian Highlands back in the era of the Urartians.

Another structure of significant artistic merit and size (about 15x40m) was a two-story palace located to the west of the temple.

A garrison was stationed to the north of the buildings. There were also quarters for servants. A unique monument of the fortress is an ancient pagan temple dedicated to the Sun God, built in the 1st century AD in the highest part of the fortress. But it was not destroyed, like many pagan temples, after the adoption of Christianity in Armenia.
The temple dominates the rest of the buildings. It is visible from all sides, striking with its proportionality and harmony of its parts. The temple was erected on a high platform, the dimensions of which are 15x11 meters. From the north side, a wide staircase consisting of 9 powerful steps rises to the building. The roof of the building rests on 24 majestic columns. The temple has rich architectural decoration. The arrays protruding from the sides of the staircase are decorated with bas-reliefs of kneeling Atlases with raised arms. The capitals of the columns are decorated with openwork foliage patterns with low relief. The cornices of the side facades are topped with lion heads. The doorway was decorated with a carved frame. An idol representing the Sun, which was the object of worship of the ancient Armenians, was installed inside the temple.

On the northern side of the square there is a bathhouse built in the 3rd century, which included at least five rooms for various purposes: the first apsidal room from the east served as a dressing room, the second as a bathhouse with cold water, the third with warm water and the fourth with hot water. There was a water tank with a firebox in the basement. The floors were made of baked bricks, covered with a layer of polished knock, supported by round pillars and heated from below by hot air with smoke coming into the underground from the firebox.

Excavations of the fortress

An idea of ​​the interior decoration is given by fragments of two-layer plaster that survived in some rooms: the lower one is white and the upper one is light pink, as well as floors with the remains of stone mosaics in fifteen shades. Particularly interesting is the soft-colored mosaic of the dressing room floor, dating back to the 3rd-4th centuries, an outstanding example of monumental painting in Armenia. The subject of the mosaic (area 2.91x3.14 m) is borrowed from Greek mythology.

When the remains of large structures were discovered near the temple, in one of them, during the cleaning of a small room in 1953, a mosaic floor measuring 2.9x2.9 meters was discovered, which is a unique monument of ancient Armenian culture. The mosaic contains inscriptions written in Greek.

On a light green background of the sea there are images of the gods of the Ocean and the Sea surrounded by fish, Nereids and ichthyocentaurs. A wide pink stripe runs along the perimeter of the mosaic. Tonal transitions of the water surface create the impression of wave movement. Greek inscriptions introduce the names of deities and Nereids, masterfully executed with knowledge of the anatomical structures of the figures. The interpretation of human figures depicted with oriental-type faces is peculiar. The Greek inscription above the heads of the gods is interesting: “Work hard without getting anything.”

Clickable, panorama

Now the Garni complex represents the ruins of a fortress with once powerful walls, the remains of a palace complex, typical Roman baths with miraculously preserved ancient mosaics on the floor and, of course, a temple in which the sun god Mithras was worshiped. The statue of Mithra stood in the interior of the temple on the elevation of the altar, so that those who came to worship the god could see it from the street in front of the building. Periodically (probably on the days of the solstice), the priests staged a kind of mystical performance for the parishioners. At certain times, the rays of the sun fell at an angle through a square hole in the roof of the temple onto a well-polished large rectangular stone fixed above the entrance to the sanctuary. Reflecting from the smooth surface of the stone, the sun's rays fell on a square hole filled with water or oil in the floor in the center of the room. The rays also reflected from the water surface and, this time, illuminated the statue of the god Mithras with bright light. This is how the priests showed people the miracle of the divine Sun.

In 1679, a strong earthquake swept through Armenia, destroying many buildings. The temple in Garni was also damaged. Its debris scattered across the Azat River gorge. In 1966-1976, the temple was restored thanks to experienced restorers and local residents, who for several years collected pieces of the destroyed building from the surrounding slopes. Today, the sanctuary of the Sun God looks a little patched up: some of its parts were never found or were too badly destroyed, they were replaced with new ones that no longer have that “ancient antiquity”, but these modern “inserts” made it possible to preserve the integrity of the temple. And this is another illusion of Garni - a pagan temple, which should no longer exist, still rises above a deep gorge against the backdrop of a necklace of snow-capped mountains.

On April 28, 2011, it became known that the historical and cultural complex “Garni” was awarded the 2011 UNESCO-Greece Prize. Melina Mercury

Bath

But for example,

The pagan temple of Garni is located in an idyllic landscape on a spur of a cliff and looks exactly like in a school history textbook. A row of six strict columns, nine steps, a triangular tympanum above the entrance, and inside - a cold, lonely room. If bloody rituals were once carried out here, then more than 20 people inside the temple were not present. Probably only priests were allowed inside the cramped room.

The temple in Garni (Garni is the name of the village next to which the temple is located) was built in 76. The steep cliff was occupied by the fortress of King Trdat the First, part of which was a temple that has survived to this day.



The Garni temple was the only one that survived the period of destruction of pagan temples, which came after Armenia adopted Christianity in 301. The earthquake of 1679 destroyed the temple, but in the 1960s and 70s the fallen columns were put back in place by Armenian archaeologists.

Garni Temple stands above the cliff. The Azat mountain river meanders below, with grass-covered mountains rising on both sides of it.
Once upon a time there was a settlement around the fortress. There is a legend, based on a found cuneiform tablet, according to which King Argishti of Urartu conquered this rock in the 7th century BC. and forcibly resettled the inhabitants to the Erebuni fortress he founded, which later became Yerevan.



Mountain road to Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery.
A little further along the road from Yerevan inland, upstream the Azat River, one monastery is hidden among the mountains in a narrow gorge. As if for greater camouflage, the stone walls of the monastery merge with the surrounding rocks. I'm talking about the Geghard monastery.


Geghard is one of the oldest monasteries in Armenia. Its structures are partially carved into the rock. It is very dark inside the main temple: the only lighting is a narrow hole in the dome and candles. The main volume of the temple was attached to those vestibules that are located in the rock. The same ancient Armenian symbols are carved on the walls of the rock as on the khachkars - large painted tombstones.



In ancient times, Geghard was called Ayrivank, that is, " cave monastery". The spear was kept here, which, according to legend, was used to pierce Jesus Christ on the Cross. The sacred spear is now kept in the Etchmiadzin Monastery.



In 2000, UNESCO included the Geghard Monastery on the list of World Cultural Heritage for the exceptional preservation of the Armenian medieval monastic complex and the rich collection of khachkars.
Geghard was founded in the 4th century on the site of a sacred spring flowing from a rock. The main church was built in the 13th century. The mountain river Azat flows next to the monastery. A picturesque stone bridge spans the river.


At the entrance to the Geghard Monastery, sellers of sujuk, egg bread and various sweets stand under bright umbrellas. If you bargain, you can buy goodies here at a price two or three times lower than at the market in Yerevan.


Since Geghard is located on the same road as Garni, it is convenient to see both of these attractions in one day. Garni is easily accessible by bus. It will be hard not to find a free taxi driver on the spot who is willing to drop half the price for the pleasure of taking you to Geghard and bringing you back. On the way back, the taxi driver will persuade you to go with him to Yerevan for a small surcharge. There is no alternative to a taxi on this route; the bus does not go to Geghard. Garni and Geghard are another of those attractions in Armenia that are within a one-day tour distance from Yerevan.

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The temple was restored from ruins during Soviet times.

Story

The Garni fortress is mentioned by Tacitus in connection with events in Armenia in the first half of the 1st century. n. e. It was built by the Armenian king Trdat I (54-88) in 76, as evidenced by his inscription in Greek discovered there:

“Helios! Trdat the Great, Great Armenia (Μεγαλη Αρμενια) sovereign, when the ruler built an agarak for the queen (and) this impregnable fortress in the eleventh year of his reign...”

This inscription is mentioned by Movses Khorenatsi, who attributed it, as well as the reconstruction of the fortress, to Trdat III the Great (286-330). The Garni fortress is one of the clearest evidence of the centuries-old culture of the pre-Christian period of Armenia.

Garni fortress began to be built in the 2nd century BC and continued to be built during the ancient era and partly in the Middle Ages. Ultimately, the Armenian rulers made it impregnable. The citadel protected residents from foreign invasions for more than 1000 years.

The Armenian kings loved this place very much - not only because of its inaccessibility, but also because of the stunning climate - and turned it into their summer residence. The Garni fortress is located 28 km from the capital of Armenia - Yerevan. Strategically, the location of Garni was chosen extremely well.

According to the Urartian cuneiform found on the territory of Garni, this fortress was conquered by the Urartian king Argishti in the first half of the 8th century BC, after which he gathered the population of Garni as a workforce and headed towards modern Yerevan, where he built the Erebuni fortress, which later became Yerevan.

The Garni fortress occupies a triangular cape dominating the surrounding area, surrounded by the Azat River on both sides, a deep gorge, and steep slopes serve as an impregnable natural boundary.

The gorge is notable for its amazing, seemingly artificial slopes, which consist of regular hexagonal prisms. The latter stretch from the foot to the top of the gorge and are called “Symphony of Stones”. In the rest of the fortress, a powerful defensive system was created - a mighty fortress wall with fourteen towers.

In the area where the approach to the fortress was complicated by natural conditions, there are fewer towers, they are placed at a distance of 25-32 m from each other. And where the enemy could approach the walls relatively unhindered, the towers were erected more often and were located at a distance of 10-13.5 m from each other. The towers were rectangular in shape. In the Armenian Highlands, rectangular towers have existed since Urartian times.

Both the fortress walls and the towers were built from large blocks of local bluish basalt, without mortar, and connected with iron brackets, the corners of the connection being filled with lead. The fortress walls have a thickness of 2.07-2.12 m and a length along the entire perimeter (together with the towers) of 314.28 m. In some places, 12-14 rows up to 6-7 m high have been preserved. It was possible to get inside the fortress only through one the gate is as wide as one chariot. At the same time, the number of troops in the fortress was enormous.

Palace complex

The historical and architectural complex of Garni is located next to the modern village of the same name. The Garni Temple is the only monument surviving on the territory of Armenia dating back to the era of paganism and Hellenism.

The temple is made of smooth-hewn basalt blocks. The stones are about two meters long, fastened with staples and pins. The temple was built in Hellenistic architectural forms. Nine massive steps 30 centimeters high stretch across the entire width of the façade, giving the building majesty and solemnity. The pylons on the sides of the stairs are decorated with reliefs. They depict naked Atlanteans standing on one knee, with their arms raised up, supporting altars. The temple throughout its composition is a peripter. The plan is a rectangular hall with a portico, surrounded by columns on the outside. The details of the temple, in contrast to the uniformity found in Greco-Roman structures, are designed with the variety inherent in local art. Along with numerous variants of acanthus leaf, Armenian motifs were introduced into the ornaments: pomegranate, grapes, hazel leaves, flowers. Basalt carving testifies to the first-class work of Armenian craftsmen. A shallow vestibule leads into the rectangular sanctuary, covered with a vault; the entrance is decorated with a richly ornamented casing. The dimensions of the sanctuary are small. There was only a statue of the deity here. This small temple served the king and his family.

As a result of a strong earthquake in 1679, the temple was almost completely destroyed; it was restored in 1966-1976. Near the temple there are the remains of an ancient fortress and a royal palace, as well as a bathhouse built in the 3rd century. The palace complex was located on the southern part of the fortress, distant from the entrance. The royal army and service personnel were located on the northern fortress territory. To the west of the temple, at the edge of the cliff, there was a ceremonial hall. A two-story residential building adjoined it from the north. Traces of pink and red paint preserved on the plaster remind of the rich decoration of the residential and state rooms of the palace. The bathhouse building included at least five rooms for various purposes, four of which had apses at the ends. The floors are decorated with Hellenistic mosaics.

In the 19th century, the ruins of the temple attracted the attention of numerous scientists and travelers, such as Chardin, Morier, Ker-Porter, Telfer, Chantre, Shnaaze, Marr, Smirnov, Romanov, Buniatyan, Trever, Manandyan. The French scientist Dubois de Montpere in 1834 tried to make a project for the reconstruction of the temple with approximate accuracy. At the end of the 19th century, the idea arose to transport all the details of the temple to Tiflis - the center of the Caucasian governorship and stack it here in front of the palace of the royal governor. Fortunately, this venture failed due to the lack of appropriate means of transportation.

At the beginning of the 20th century, archaeological work was carried out to discover details and measure the temple by a small expedition led by N. Ya. Marr. In the early 30s, the chief architect of Yerevan N. G. Buniatyan examined the Garni Temple and already in 1933 gave a project for the reconstruction of its original appearance. Academician I. A. Orbeli was also interested in the issue of restoring the pagan temple in Garni. In the mid-60s, restoration work was entrusted to the architect A. A. Sainyan. Wonderful Armenian craftsmen worked painstakingly for almost 10 years. Restoring the temple was no easier than building it; it was necessary to find the location of each surviving stone. The Garni temple was completely restored in 1976.

Historians attribute the construction of the temple to King Trdat I (reigned in the second half of the 1st century), who at one time paid a friendly visit to Rome. In even more ancient times, Garni served as a fortress for the Urartian king Argishti I. And from the 3rd century. BC e. Until the 4th century, the summer residence of the Armenian kings (Ervandids, Artashesids and Arsacids) was located here. The fortress was also affected by the devastating campaigns of the Roman legions across Armenia in the 1st century. For some time there was even an opinion that the French word “garrison” was born here: supposedly Mark Antony wrote a letter to Cleopatra saying that he had built a military camp near Garni - a garrison. But this is just a beautiful “etymological illusion”.

The Garni fortress is mentioned by Tacitus in connection with events in Armenia in the first half of the 1st century. n. e. It was built by the Armenian king Trdat in the 1st century. 76, as evidenced by his inscription in Greek discovered there:

“Helios! Trdat the Great, sovereign of Great Armenia, when the ruler built this impregnable fortress for the queen in the eleventh year of his reign...”

This inscription is mentioned by Movses Khorenatsi, who attributed it, as well as the reconstruction of the fortress, to Trdat III the Great. The Garni fortress is one of the clearest evidence of the centuries-old culture of the pre-Christian period of Armenia. Garni fortress began to be built in the 2nd century BC and continued to be built during the ancient era and partly in the Middle Ages. Ultimately, the Armenian rulers made it impregnable. The citadel protected residents from foreign invasions for more than 1000 years.

The Armenian kings loved this place very much - not only because of its inaccessibility, but also because of the amazing climate - and turned it into their summer residence. The Garni fortress is located 28 km from the capital of Armenia - Yerevan. Strategically, the location of Garni was chosen extremely well. According to the Urartian cuneiform found on the territory of Garni, this fortress was conquered by the Urartian king Argishti in the first half of the 8th century BC, after which he gathered the population of Garni as a workforce and headed towards modern Yerevan, where he built the Erebuni fortress, which later became Yerevan.

The temple was built in the second half of the 1st century AD. e. and was dedicated to a pagan deity, possibly the sun god Mithra, whose figure stood in the depths of the sanctuary - naos. After the proclamation of the state religion in Armenia in 301 - Christianity, the temple was probably used as a summer room for the kings, called in the chronicle the “house of coolness”.

In style, the temple, which is a six-column peripterum, is close to similar monuments in Asia Minor (Termes, Sagala, Pergamon), Lebanon (Baalbek) and Rome. It is mainly made in Hellenistic architectural forms, but local traditions are also reflected in it. It should be noted that the type of rectangular religious building with columns and pediment was known on the territory of the Armenian Highlands back in the era of the Urartians.

The temple dominates the rest of the buildings. It is visible from all sides, striking with its proportionality and harmony of its parts. The temple was erected on a high platform, the dimensions of which are 15x11 meters. From the north side, a wide staircase consisting of 9 powerful steps rises to the building. The roof of the building rests on 24 majestic columns. The temple has rich architectural decoration. The arrays protruding from the sides of the staircase are decorated with bas-reliefs of kneeling Atlases with raised arms. The capitals of the columns are decorated with openwork foliage patterns with low relief. The cornices of the side facades are topped with lion heads. The doorway was decorated with a carved frame. An idol representing the Sun, which was the object of worship of the ancient Armenians, was installed inside the temple.