paunklimited » Geghard http://blog.paunklimited.com Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:42:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Geghard http://blog.paunklimited.com/gallery/armenia/geghard/geghard/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://blog.paunklimited.com/gallery/armenia/geghard/geghard/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:30:50 +0000 paunk http://blog.paunklimited.com/?p=287

The monastery of Geghard (Armenian: ??????, meaning spear) is a unique architectural construction in the Kotayk province of Armenia, being partially carved out of the adjacent mountain, surrounded by cliffs. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
While 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. The monastery had thus been originally named Ayrivank, meaning “the Monastery of the Cave”. The name commonly used for the monastery today, Geghard, or more fully Geghardavank (???????????), meaning “the Monastery of the Spear”.

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