Sacred places in Armenia: temples, churches, shrines and mosques

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Orthodox Christianity · Armavir · 301 tới 303, dựng lại năm 483 tới 484Etchmiadzin CathedralEchmiadzin, Էջմիածնի Մայր տաճար, Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin, Mayr Tachar, Nhà thờ Mẹ Etchmiadzin

The Mother Cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church, founded in 301 to 303 following a vision of St. Gregory the Illuminator and described by UNESCO as the oldest Christian monument in Armenia. Its name Etchmiadzin means the Only-Begotten Descended, serving as the seat of the Catholicos of All Armenians and inscribed together with the surrounding churches as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots, 2000)Tòa Mẹ Etchmiadzin (Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin), thành phố Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), tỉnh Armavir

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Photo: Luigi Guarino, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Orthodox Christianity · Ararat Province · Hầm ngục dưới lòng đất gắn với 13 năm giam cầm Thánh Grêgôriô Người Khai Sáng trước biến cố Vua Tiridates III cải đạo năm 301; nhà nguyện đầu tiên dựng năm 642 thời Thượng phụ Nerses III người Xây dựng; Nhà thờ Surb Astvatsatsin tái thiết năm 1662Khor Virap MonasteryKhor Virap Vank, Monastery of the Deep Pit of Saint Gregory the Illuminator at Ancient Artashat

The supreme pilgrimage sanctuary of the Armenian Apostolic Church perched on a hill of ancient Artashat directly facing snow-capped Mount Ararat, enshrining the 6-meter underground pit where Saint Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned for thirteen years before healing King Tiridates III and leading Armenia to become the world's first Christian state in 301 CE.

Birthplace Sanctuary of Armenian State Christianity, National Historical Monument of Armenia, and Papal Pilgrimage Site of Pope John Paul II (2001) and Pope Francis (2016)Ancient Artashat Hill, near Pokr Vedi Village, Ararat Province, 40 km south of Yerevan, Republic of Armenia

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Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Islam · Yerevan · Khởi dựng từ năm 1765 tới 1768 (năm 1179 Hồi lịch) bởi Tổng trấn Hussein Ali Khan Qajar của Hãn quốc Erivan; chuyển thành Bảo tàng Lịch sử Yerevan năm 1936 và Cung Thiên văn năm 1952; phục hồi toàn diện từ năm 1996 tới 1999Blue Mosque, YerevanKapuyt Mzkit Yerevan, Goy Masjid, Persian Mosque of Hussein Ali Khan on Mesrop Mashtots Avenue

The sole surviving active mosque of historic Yerevan, commissioned between 1765 and 1768 by Hussein Ali Khan Qajar, Governor of the Erivan Khanate, covering 7,000 square meters along Mesrop Mashtots Avenue with a 24-meter tiled minaret, a turquoise-and-cobalt glazed dome, and a tranquil elm-shaded courtyard ringed by 28 madrasa cells.

National Historical and Architectural Monument of the Republic of Armenia and the only active mosque in Armenia12 Mesrop Mashtots Avenue, Kentron District, 0015 Yerevan, Republic of Armenia

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Photo: Marcin Konsek, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Orthodox Christianity · Kotayk Province · Khởi nguồn tu viện hang đá có suối thiêng từ thế kỷ 4 thời Thánh Grêgôriô Người Khai Sáng (Ayrivank); quần thể Nhà thờ chính Katoghike, tiền sảnh Gavit và hai đại sảnh đục nguyên khối trong lòng núi đá hoàn thiện từ năm 1215 tới 1288 dưới sự bảo trợ của vương tộc Zakarian và ProshianMonastery of Geghard and the Upper Azat ValleyGeghardavank, Monastery of the Holy Spear, Monastery of the Cave (Ayrivank) in the Upper Azat Gorge

A UNESCO World Heritage monastic complex (inscribed in 2000, Ref. 960) dramatic for its medieval churches and tombs carved directly into the sheer cliffs of the Upper Azat River Gorge, founded in the fourth century around a sacred cave spring and perfected in the thirteenth century under the Zakarian and Proshian princes as the historic sanctuary of the Holy Lance (Geghard).

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Inscribed in 2000, Ref. 960)Upper Azat River Gorge, near Goght and Garni, Kotayk Province, 38 km southeast of Yerevan, Republic of Armenia

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Photo: Marcin Konsek, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Orthodox Christianity · Lori Province · Khởi dựng dưới triều Vua Ashot III Đấng Nhân Từ và Hoàng hậu Khosrovanuysh của vương triều Bagratuni vào năm 966 (Sanahin) và năm 976 (Haghpat); mở rộng rực rỡ suốt thế kỷ 11 tới thế kỷ 13 dưới vương triều Kiurikian (Tashir-Dzoraget) và dòng họ ZakarianMonasteries of Haghpat and SanahinHaghpatavank and Sanahni Vank, Twin Bagratuni and Kiurikian Monastic Academies of the Debed Canyon

Twin tenth-to-thirteenth-century monastic complexes and medieval universities perched on a lush plateau above the Debed River gorge in Lori Province (inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 and extended in 2000, Ref. 777), founded by Queen Khosrovanuysh of the Bagratuni dynasty and renowned for their intersecting stone arches, scriptoria, belfries, and intricately carved khachkar cross-stones.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Inscribed in 1996, Extended in 2000, Ref. 777bis)Haghpat Village and Sanahin District of Alaverdi, high plateau overlooking the Debed River Canyon, Lori Province, Northern Armenia

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Photo: Soghomon Matevosyan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

IIHelp Us Build This

This library is open and free, and it records its own progress in public. Three things you can help with today:

Name a place we missedA founding temple, a church, a mosque, a shrine the table above does not have. Send the name, the province, and one line on why it belongs.
Send a photograph with an open licenceNothing is published without both the photographer and the licence. Your own photograph with your permission, or an openly licensed one, are both welcome.
Report an errorA wrong date, a wrong original name, a wrong lineage, a wrong address. A library that is wrong once is not trusted again, so corrections are very welcome.

Write to thayungkhiem@gmail.com

IIILog

24/10/2026Completed three major initiatives on the same day: (1) Verified primary international sources and published the remaining 199 full English editions across 192 countries and territories, officially completing Stage D with 100% bilingual Vietnamese and English coverage across the entire library. (2) Visually verified and published 35 openly licensed Wikimedia Commons photographs for 22 sites in Vietnam and 13 international sanctuaries. (3) Authored 100 new bilingual sacred place monographs with real photographs for Stage C across 25 countries and territories (South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Canada and Mexico), expanding each from 1 to 5 places and bringing the library to 761 sacred places.
29/09/2026Officially opened the doors of Hall of Myriad Paths to readers worldwide as a living spiritual library that grows every day. On the same day, authored 60 new Stage A sacred place monographs across 60 countries in the Nordic and Baltic regions, the Balkans, the Gulf, Central Asia, European microstates, Africa, Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean (including Roskilde Cathedral, Hallgrímskirkja, the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, Ostrog Monastery, Malé Friday Mosque, Sulayman-Too, Old Orhei, the Temple in the Sea and Ambohimanga), while verifying and publishing 59 openly licensed photographs for the second and third batches.
28/09/2026In the Main Hall, transformed 174 sacred symbols of faiths and branches into raised 3D forms so visitors can select their own tradition before making an offering, alongside a public record of milestones. In the Places section, authored 30 new Stage A monographs across 30 countries in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America (including St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Rila Monastery, Svetitskhoveli, Etchmiadzin, al-Qarawiyyin, the Great Mosque of Djenné, Namugongo and the Basilica of Luján).

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?Quick Questions

Why are there no opening hours or ticket prices

Because they change constantly. A library that is wrong once about a practical detail loses its standing on everything else. Check with the place itself before you travel.

Where do the images come from

From Wikimedia Commons under open licences, each credited to its photographer, or photographed by UK MASTER ACADEMY. No image is published without both its author and its licence.

How were these places chosen

Four tests: it is officially listed as a heritage site, it belongs to a tradition this library covers, its site and orientation can be read in feng shui terms, and an openly licensed photograph exists.

Why is my country still grey

The library opens one country at a time, beginning with the countries that have the most readers, and within each country with its most significant places. A grey country is simply one whose turn has not come. Suggestions are welcome through the page of Master Ưng Khiêm.

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