Armavir Marz (Region)

The Armavir Marz (region) is located in the central part of Armenia. The total area of the region is 1,242 square kilometers, which is 4.2 percent of the territory of Armenia. The population of the region is 312 thousand people.

Monuments ....

	The Etchmiadzin Cathedral Etchmiadzin Cathedral is the most ancient church in the world and the most ancient spiritual center. For more than 500 years, it is invariably the center of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Etеchmiadzin Cathedral was built in 303, in the place of the pagan god Sandaramet’s temple. There is an interesting legend connected with the construction of the church and because of it, believers think that the Cathedral has not been made by man…
	Zvartnots In 652, the Byzantine emperor Constans II, who attended the ceremony of consecration of the temple, was so impressed by the structure and its dimensions that took the architect of the temple to Byzantium with him so that he built a similar temple in Constantinople. However, the architect fell ill and died on the way.
	Metsamor This ancient settlement at one time was the capital city of the Araratyan country and one of the main places of worship of the Mother Goddess. In Metsamor there was also the world's oldest copper smelter. However, that is not all: you shall still see a lot of things that will surprise you in the museum of Metsamor...
	The Monastery of Saint Hripsime According to the legend, Hripsime being harassed by the Roman emperor Diocletian escaped with her friends and settled down in the outskirts of Armenian capital city of Vagharshapat. The emperor asked the Armenian king Tiridates III to find them and return them to Rome. But the king Tiridates III fell in love with the virgin Hripsime and wanted to make her his woman. But the virgin did not surrender and by the order of the king she was martyred with her friends after being beaten with stones in this place.