Karmravor Church
Tiny 7th-century church with original roof tiles
- Area Aragatsotn
- Type Religious site
- Time needed 20m
Karmravor is a very small 7th-century church on a back street in Ashtarak, remarkable mainly because its original stone roof tiles are still in place. The whole building would fit inside the gavit of a large monastery.
Open in the planner →Getting there
It is about 26 km and roughly 28 minutes from Yerevan on the app's estimate, in a residential part of Ashtarak. Finding the lane is harder than the drive.
What you see
The church is a cross plan with a low dome, built of reddish stone and still carrying the tiles that most buildings of its age have lost. The interior is a single tiny space with a plain altar and a few khachkars. There is a small walled garden around it, and the surrounding streets are ordinary Ashtarak suburb.
What to pair it with
Hovhannavank and Saghmosavank are both a short drive north along the Kasakh canyon.
When to go
Any time of day; the building photographs best when the sun is not directly overhead. The door is sometimes locked, in which case there is nothing to do but look at the exterior.
What is hard about it
It is a twenty-minute stop at most, and the setting is a suburban street rather than anything scenic. Visitors who are not specifically interested in early Armenian church forms will wonder why they came.
Common questions
Why is Karmravor significant?
Its roofing tiles are original, which is rare for a building of this period and makes it a reference point for how such churches were finished.
Will the church be open?
Not reliably. It is a small parish church and the door is sometimes locked outside service times. [VERIFY — confirm current details]
Is it worth a detour on its own?
Rarely. It makes sense as a ten-minute addition to a Kasakh canyon trip rather than a destination.
Nearby
- Amberd FortressCliff-top fortress on the slopes of Mount Aragats
- SaghmosavankMonastery on the rim of the Kasakh canyon
- HovhannavankCanyon-edge monastery with carved portals
- Tegher MonasteryAustere 13th-century monastery on Aragats
- Mount AragatsArmenia's highest peak, with Lake Kari below the summits
- Byurakan ObservatorySoviet-era observatory founded by Viktor Ambartsumian
More of the same kind
- Blue Mosque18th-century Persian mosque with a tiled courtyard
- St Gregory the Illuminator CathedralLargest cathedral in Armenia, consecrated in 2001
- Katoghike ChurchTiny 13th-century chapel, the oldest in central Yerevan
- Zoravor Church17th-century church in a quiet courtyard