Meghri

Meghri sits in a narrow valley above the Araks in the southern tip of Armenia, low, hot and close to Iran, and it looks unlike the rest of the country: flat-roofed houses stepped up the slopes, orchards of pomegranate, fig and persimmon, and churches with brick domes and painted interiors that owe as much to Persian building as to Armenian. The Surb Astvatsatsin and Surb Hovhannes churches are the ones to find, both with wall paintings inside.

History

The area has been settled since the Bronze Age, with many sites of the Urartian 7th-6th centuries BC, and the region grew after the founding of Tatev Monastery in the 8th century; King Smbat I founded the settlement as Karchavan in 906, and it later took the name Meghri, honey town. It joined the Kingdom of Syunik in 987 and fell to the Seljuks in 1105, who laid it waste in 1126 and 1157, and in the 16th century it passed to Safavid Iran; in the 1720s David Bek, leading the Armenians of Syunik, rebuilt the Meghri fortress, the only Armenian fortress built for firearms, where 400 of his soldiers held off a large Ottoman force in 1727 (Wikipedia, Meghri).

Highlights

• The painted churches - Surb Astvatsatsin and Surb Hovhannes, with painted interiors and brick domes.
• The old quarters - flat-roofed houses stepped up the valley sides.
• The orchards - pomegranate, fig and persimmon in the valley bottom.
• The valley - a hot narrow cut running down to the Araks.

When to go

April to June and September to November are comfortable; midsummer in the valley is extremely hot. Fruit ripens in autumn, which is the best time for the orchards. The mountain road in can be snowbound in winter.

Before you go

It is a very long drive from Yerevan over several passes and most visitors turn back before reaching it. Church keys are often held locally and finding whoever has them takes time. Accommodation is limited.

Nearby

Arevik National Park is above the town, and the Iranian border crossing is in the valley below.

Key facts