The Sevanavank Monastery Complex

Sevanavank stands on the north-western shore of Lake Sevan, on the Sevan peninsula, which was once a small island. It is one of the most important medieval spiritual centres of Armenia. The monastery was founded in 874 by Princess Mariam, daughter of Ashot I Bagratuni and wife of Vasak Gabur, prince of Gegharkunik.

In the 16th–17th centuries the monastery walls were destroyed, and in 1930 the last monk left the island. Today Sevanavank is active again and houses the Vazgen I Theological Seminary. The small cross-shaped domed churches of Surb Arakelots (Holy Apostles) and Surb Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God) have survived. The carved wooden doors of Surb Arakelots and the sculpted capitals of its narthex are kept in the History Museum of Yerevan.

The aerial photograph shows the complex’s two churches with conical domes, the remains of walls around them, and the lake and mountains in the background.