Noravank Monastery, Armenia

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The monuments of Noravank are situated on a ledge of a deep winding gorge of a tributary of the Arpa river near the village of Amaghu, Yeghegnadzor District. Noravank ensemble stands amidst the bizarre-shaped precipitous red cliffs. Built in place of an ancient cloister, it grew in the reign of Princes Orbelian of Syunik. In the 13th-14th centuries the monastery became a residence of Syunik's bishops and, consequently. a major religious and, later, cultural center of Armenia closely connected with many of the local seats of learning, primarily with GladzorÂ’s famed university and library.

The church of St. Grigory (the burial place of the Orbelians) was added by the architect Siranes to the northern wall of St. Karapet church in 1275. This is a modest structure, rectangular in the plan, with a semi-circular altar and a vaulted ceiling on a wall arch. The entrance with an arched tympanum is decorated with columns, and the altar apse is flanked with khachkars and representations of doves in relief.

The church of St. Karapet (the 9th-10th centuries), which has come down to us in ruins, is the most ancient monument of Noravank. To the north of it, there is the main temple, also dedicated to St. Karapet. Erected in 1221—1227, it belongs to the widespread cross-winged domed type with two-storey annexes in the corners. This building of clear-cut outline is decorated in a severe style. The front wall of the sanctuary partition is decorated with rhythmic rows of salient Greek crosses, carved on slabs, and the capitals of the interior half-columns — with trefoils. Judging by a fragment of the churches model, which has survived, the dome had an octahedral drum with an umbrella-type roof.

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