Northern Armenia shares mountains, valleys and history with Georgia, its northerly Caucasus neighbor. This part of the country is well worth seeing and is greener and lusher than the more arid southern regions. This journey continues along the Debed Gorge (starting in the earlier post here: https://www.aerotrekka.com/armenia-silk-road-passes-mongols-migs/) and then heads west to see Gyumri, Armenia’s second city.

Khachkar Time at the Debed Gorge Monasteries. The Debed Gorge hosts five of Armenia’s most notable churches and monasteries, that were as much medieval military and political as well as religious centers.

Haghpat Monastery’s main cathedral, Saint Nshan, was built in 976-991 and was the first major construction of a complex that included a library, bell tower, refectory and other buildings, that continued into the mid-13th century. Like many religious centers of the time, it was built on high ground – here overlooking the Debed Gorge – originally with a fortress wall.

Unusually – for ordinarily unpainted Armenian church interiors – and influenced by the Byzantine orthodox, Saint Nshan has a series of frescoes, the largest and best preserved of which are in the apse showing Christ and other religious figures.

The monastery’s library space is still intact, still showing the holes set in its floor for the purposes of hiding books when the next invader swept through. Next to the library is one of Armenia’s most elaborate khachkars – ornate sculpted stones dominated by a cross – the Holy Redeemer, carved in 1273.

A stand alone bell tower was constructed in the 1240s.

If you have enough time, there is an 8-kilometer hiking trail to Sanahin Monastery https://hikearmenia.org/all-trails/trail/world-heritage-trail. Both Haghpat and Sanahin were the first of Armenia’s monasteries to be granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1996.

Akhtala Monastery, built on a hillside bluff in the 10th-13th centuries and originally within a fortress, the church is unique in the extent of its luminous and intricate murals; again in a Byzantine orthodox style. Only 10 kilometers from the Georgian border, the Holy Mother of God Church was originally built as a Georgian orthodox church in the early 1200s.

The dome collapsed in the 18th century and was replaced by a wooden structure. Akhtala is one of the less visited of Armenia’s monasteries, but worth the extra journey on the road to Georgia. The site has superb views into the surrounding valleys but watch your step as there are multiple collapsed subterranean rooms in the monastery grounds.

The interior is heavily fresco’ed with biblical scenes and figures of the apostles and saints. The murals are believed to have been painted around 1205-1216 and mostly contain Greek and Georgian script.

The apse has a large fresco with a defaced figure of the Virgin Mary and child, and below her a depiction of the last supper and various saints, all overlooking the altar.

Gyumri – the North’s Urban Center. Gyumri is Armenia’s second largest city, and after occupation by the Russians in 1804 during the Russo-Persian War, was Armenia’s principal city until the conquest of Russian Armenia by 1828, where Yerevan was made the capital. Gyumri was renamed Alexandropol – after a Tsar – in 1837 and then Leninakan – after another Tsar – in 1924, only regaining its original Armenian name in 1990. It’s a convenient stop along the northern part of the country, with a Tsarist-era historical center that largely survived the catastrophic 1988 earthquake, which leveled over half of the city. While Gyumri was surpassed by Yerevan as Armenia’s principal city, it is perhaps one of the best preserved examples of Tsarist-era architecture anywhere. Many of the buildings are solidly constructed low-level buildings, some made from black and orange stone found in the region.

Gyumri grew not only as a military and commercial hub for the expanding Russian Empire, but as a refugee center for Western Armenians fleeing the Ottoman Turkish genocide of 1915. The scale of the slaughter was such that orphanages for 22,000 children were established in the city. Historians don’t always look kindly on the Tsarist Russian Empire, but in this case it served a positive role.

The December 1988 earthquake was a disaster for the city and surrounding region, killing over 25,000 people and making 500,000 homeless. Gyumri’s main sights are easily walked from the main Vardanants Square – the old town is directly north and Central Park is just west for a greener walk.

The collapse of the Soviet Union through 1989-91 and the struggle of the restored Armenian Republic’s formative years meant that rebuilding was protracted – in many cases supported by the global Armenian community. Many buildings – Soviet and Tsarist – are still vacant.

The historic city center – look for the blocks north of the main Vardanants Square, particularly Abovyan Street – is increasingly restored and is a good place to start your walkabout or evening out.

The Black Fortress. Gyumri was an important strongpoint in the Russian defenses against the Ottoman Empire to the west and Imperial Persia to the south. In 1837, the Black Fortress was constructed just west of the city. The circular fortress, made of the black stone you see throughout the city, was never attacked but served as a strategic center that was instrumental in the Russian victories over the Ottoman Turks in the 1877-78 war.

The walls are heavily carved with Russian and Armenian graffiti. Today, the fort serves as an entertainment venue, with the cannon positions tastefully converted into concert hall style boxes.

Many of the Soviet Republics obtained a memorial to the motherland – here is Mother Armenia, built in 1975, located next to the Black Fortress. This statue holds a wheat sheaf and complements the other Mother Armenia statue in Yerevan, which comes armed with a broadsword.

Gyumri Railway Station. In 1899, the Russians connected Gyumri westwards to Kars (then Russian territory) and north to Tbilisi by railway, as part of the Transcaucasian Railway that connected its southern empire. Built in 1979 and an example of late Soviet-era modernist regional architecture, the railway station will connect you efficiently but slowly to Yerevan or as a stop on the way to Tbilisi – and ultimately Batumi on the Black Sea for the beach vacation crowd. The train schedule hasn’t changed much since Soviet times, although links into Russia via and beyond Tbilisi aren’t advertised.

Jrapi Caravanserai. The flatlands southwest of Gyumri run into Lake Arpi, through which the Turkish border runs. Just east of the lake and the H-17 highway is the 11th-century Jrapi Caravanserai, built as a way station between Anatolia and the Caucasus by the Seljuk Turks (https://goo.gl/maps/dkdAUMioZq6pMqhp6). There are two church structures on the site – one in 11th-century ruins and an 1874 building that is active, but usually unattended.

Only a quarter of the caravanserai’s roof remains, but there is enough of the remaining walls and archways to see how the full structure must have been. Rather like the Selim Caravanserai (https://www.aerotrekka.com/armenia-silk-road-passes-mongols-migs/), it is a long rectangular building with a single entrance at one end.

Logistics. You’ll need your own vehicle to travel around the region efficiently, although if you take the train to Gyumri, the town and the Black Fortress are navigable on foot or with a taxi ride. For hotels, the Tufenkian Avan Dzoreget is a good base to explore the Debed Region and Gyumri has plentiful accommodation – I stayed at the Hay Aspet B&B (53 Shiraz Street – shown as Gorky Street on Google maps, look just east of the Hovnannes Shiraz Museum).

Gyumri has a decent range of restaurant options, serving mainly Armenian food. Some good options include Gyumri Hatsatun (1 Peace Circle – southeast side) and Kilikia Bistro (22 Garegin Nzhdeh Avenue) near the center; in the old town, you can try Florence Gyumri (5/7 Shiraz (shown as Gorky on Google Maps) and Poloz Mukuch (Jivani Street – south of Rustaveli Street). Be aware that Gyumri’s old center is developing so it’s worth taking a walk around to see what else has opened – or closed. The Gyumri Garden House (Abovyan Street, south of Shiraz/Gorky Street) is a popular beer hall and bar and there are a number of cafes along pedestrianized Rijkov Street, with Herbs & Honey (5 Rijkov Street) well recommended. Also popular is Ponchik Monchik, a cafe/snack restaurant located on the west side of Vardanants Square.