If you once go to Armenia, don’t miss the opportunity to visit the Garni temple. I have visited many tourism places, but very few moved my imagination and carried me away to the past like the pagan temple of Garni.
When I first saw this classic temple, I had a sensation that I was in Greece or ancient Rome. But I was really in Armenia.
Fortunately I had a guide with me and she told me all about Garni, its history and legends.
Garni temple was built in the 1st century AD by the Armenian King Tiridates I. The entire temple was built of basalt and each of the 24 columns has an Ionic capital. According to the legend, the temple was dedicated to the Pagan God of the Sun, Mitra.
In the temple, I could see carvings in Greek, as well as ancient graffiti in Arabic. As the guide explained, those carvings carry messages from the past. The guide pointed out a Greek inscription over the heads of the gods saying “Work And Gain Nothing.”
As the guide told me, the majority of pagan monuments were destroyed or abandoned after the adoption of Christianity in the early 4th century. Garni, however, wasn’t destroyed thanks to the sister of King Tiridates II and was used as a summer residence for Armenian royalty. Garni was destroyed during the Arabs’ conquers in Armenia and was rebuilt in the beginning of the 10th century. In 1679 the temple was destroyed by a violent earthquake, but was reconstructed in 1975.
While there I took some photos on the stairs and at the entrance of the temple. I bought souvenirs that were sold near the entrance and went to other tourism places in Armenia, like Geghard Monastery which is nearby Garni, Khor Virab, Noravank, Sahahin and Haghpat. I’ll never forget my trip to Armenia.
Photo © Rita Willaert
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