THE UNUSUAL CITY OF ASHTARAK: WINE AND ANTIQUITIES

As part of the ToursEnergy tour, the first meeting with Armenian winemakers and wine takes place in the mountainous Aragatsotn region. We will go to the city of Ashtarak, which is famous for its centuries-old history and ancient wineries .

The city of Ashtarak, located 20 km from Yerevan on the way to Gyumri and Vanadzor, is one of the most ancient cities in Armenia. The first mention of it dates back to the IX century, but some of its buildings date back to an even earlier period. Thus, the churches of Tsiranavor ("apricot"), Spitakavor ("white") and Karmravor ("red") were built in the V-VII centuries. The first two have survived to this day in a dilapidated state, and the Karmravor temple has survived almost completely – even the old tiles have been preserved.

Getting acquainted with the culture of the city of Ashtarak begins with the Ashtarak gorge, where you can see the 4-storey Darabavor caves, which have been used for planting since ancient times.

Another symbol of the city of Ashtarak in Armenia is the ancient three-arch bridge over the Kasakh River, built in the XVII century. Next to it, you can find the ruins of an even more ancient bridge (XIII century), as well as a medieval watermill, which still produces flour. The old quarter of Ashtarak is interesting in the city and,, the Mother of the River,, this river was the vein of life for the Ashtaraks,they glorified it as a sacred river. As part of this trip ,we will make a visit to one of the ancient wineries of Ashtarak, where we will taste the wine obtained using ancient technologies.

Ashtarak is famous for its hospitality,we will have lunch here and participate in a master class on cooking Armenian sweet sujukh.After that, we will go to the Voskevaz winery.And in the evening we will stay at the Van Ardi winery, where we will feel the influence of the ringing of the Armenian bell on the ripening of grapes and wine.

These three churches are perhaps the most famous sights of Ashtarak. There are even legends about them, which tell about three sisters who dressed in dresses of different colors and committed suicide because of a young man. In memory of them, these temples were built – and in the most beautiful places with the best views of Ashtarak.

Join the ToursEnergy tour and see with your own eyes the historical antiquities of Armenia!