Horomayr Monastery ( hy, Հոռոմայրի վանք) is a monastic complex in the

Lori Province Lori ( hy, Լոռի, ), is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering Georgia. Vanadzor is the capital and largest city of the province. Other important towns include Stepanavan, Alaverdi, and Spitak ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

. The monastery is built on the cliffs 1 km south of the village of

Odzun Odzun ( hy, Օձուն) is a village in the Lori Province of Armenia. It is situated on a plateau above the left bank of the Debed river gorge, about a thousand metres above the Yerevan–Tbilisi highway, a few kilometres south of the town of Alav ...

. It is easiest to get to Odzun from Alaverdi via the town's public transport. To get to the site, the visitor may climb up from the highway along the Debed River, or hike south across the cliffs from the last switchback to Odzun. The fastest but hardest route is to climb down the cliff south of Odzun. The monastery is built in part at the top of the cliff, in part halfway down. At the top, there is a three-chambered chapel. Below, the walls of the canyon form one of the four walls of the structures. There are caves within the monastic complex,

khachkar A ''khachkar'', also known as a ''khatchkar'' or Armenian cross-stone ( hy, խաչքար, , խաչ xačʿ "cross" + քար kʿar "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, in ...

s, and carvings. St Mark's Church was built by the Princes Zakare and

Ivane Mkhargrdzeli Ivane is a Georgian masculine given name. It is a cognate of the name John. Notable people with the name include: *Ivane Abazasdze (Georgian: იოანე აბაზასძე), 11th-century Georgian feudal lord, a duke of Kartli under Kin ...

in 1187. The other buildings were built by Abbot Samuel in 1206. The bottom monument complexes of Horomayri are stretched in the same way as the main church of St. Virgin in the convent of

Bardzrakash Bardzrakash ( hy, Բարձրաքաշ) is a 10-13th-century. Armenian monastery located between Dsegh village and Tumanyan town within Lori marz, Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked co ...

St. Gregory for the same reasons - highly constrained terrain.

Gallery

File:Horomayr.jpg, View from above File:Horomayri Monastery 1.jpg, View from below File:Horomayri Monastery Wall Inscription.jpg, Inscription on the rock in the Monastery

References

External links

Armeniapedia.org: Horomayri Monastery

Wikimapia
{{Armenian Churches Christian monasteries in Armenia Tourist attractions in Lori Province Buildings and structures in Lori Province