Tsiranavor Church (5-6th century) is located in Ashtarak city, in Aragatsotn province. A small, modest basilica was built on behalf of Catholicos Nerses II Bagrevandsky. The church building is made of local tufa.
The well-established transport infrastructure of Armenia allows to get to Tsiranavor Church by a private car or with the help of various travel companies which offer regular excursions and tours to different sights of the country. Due to the geographical location of Tsiranavor Church the trip will not seem long.
The high season in Armenia lasts for a long time due to the pleasant climate conditions. Warm days in Armenia start in March and last until late autumn; winter is usually snowless and not long. The high precipitation season is variable. The tourist season for Tsiranavor Church depends on the weather conditions.
There is an old sad legend associated with Tsiranavor church. According to it, once there were three sisters living here. All three girls, unfortunatelly, fell in love with one young man, whose name was Sargis. Unable to resist their feelings, the elder sisters decided to commit suicide by sacrificing their lives for the happiness of their younger sister. So two girls, one in a red dress and the other in an apricot dress, threw themselves from a cliff directly into the bottomless gorge of the Kasakh River. Hearing this tragic news, the younger sister in desperation ran out of the house in her snow-white dress and jumped from the rocks after her beloved sisters. The young man Sargis could not bear the burden of guilt and became a hermit monk. And in memory of the three sisters at the very cliff, people built three small churches - Karmravor ("Red"), Tsiranavor ("Apricot") and Spitakavor ("White").
According to some historical sources, there was a temple of the Dragon Ashtarak-Azhdahak on the site of Tsiranavor church in the pagan period. An ancient basilica was erected here after the adoption of Christianity.
TSIRANAVOR CHURCH
1
TSIRANAVOR CHURCH
1
TSIRANAVOR CHURCH
5
)
