Khachkars and other Ejmiatsin, Armenia Things to Do Tips

Armenian churches are decorated with carved stone crosses - khachkars. The picture is from a wall of the Cathedral in Echmiadzin.

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Zvartnots Cathedral is situated along the Yerevan - Echmiadzin road, only 3 km from Echmiadzin. The church and the patriarchal palace are in ruins, but you can see that this church looked different from other churches in Armenia. It was a round church with a high dome, and it is supposed to have been the largest round church in the world when it was constructed in the middle of the 7th century. During the 10th century it was destroyed by an earthquake and Arab invaders.
Today you can see finely carved stone pillars and other decorated stone fragments, the pool for baptism and remnants of a palace and winery. In the Armenian History Museum you can see a model of how the church once looked.
In the background you can see Mount Ararat, and occasionally airplanes as the international airport is nearby.
Together with Eechmiadzin, Zvartnots is an Unesco World Heritage Site.
Entrance fee is 1000 drams (August 2006).

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