Geghard Monastery - Град в конце апреля...

Geghard Monastery - XII-XIII Century, Armenia. The monastery of Geghard contains a number of churches and tombs, most of them cut into the rock, which illustrate the very peak of Armenian medieval architecture. The main chapel was built in 1215, the monastery complex was founded in the 4th century by Gregory the Illuminator at the site of a sacred spring inside a cave. Thus the monastery had been originally named Ayrivank, meaning "the Monastery of the Cave". The complex of medieval buildings is set into a landscape of great natural beauty, surrounded by towering cliffs at the entrance to the Azat Valley. The Monastery of Geghard i is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site(2000). http://ylt.azhdahak.com