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Garni (Գառնի) is a village in Armenia famous for its Greco-Roman temple. It’s a short drive from Yerevan and makes for a popular day trip.
Introduction to Garni
Garni was first settled in the 3rd millennium BC. It was conquered by Urartian King Argishti I in the 8th century BC. The fortress was built around the 3rd century BC as a summer residence for the Armenian Orontid and Artaxiad dynasties.
In the 1st century, King Mithridates and his family were assassinated in Garni by his son-in-law and nephew Rhadamistus (d. 58). The fortress was taken in 1386 by the Timurids and the area was devastated by an earthquake in 1679.
The village sits adjacent to the beautiful Garni Gorge and Khosrov Forest State Reserve, which is popular with hikers and adventurous travelers. It’s also on the road to Geghard, which most people combine with a visit to Garni. On my trip, we visited the temple and Symphony of Stones, but I hope to return to explore the reserve and a few other attractions.
Arch of Charents
Just about every guided tour will make a quick stop at the Arch of Charents on the way to the village. It’s a monument built in 1957 by architect Rafael Israelyan (1908-1973) and located in the village of Voghjaberd. From the arch are spectacular views of Mount Ararat and Yerevan.
The arch is on a rectangular plan measuring 10 x 5.5 meters and is 5 meters high with a gabled roof. The lines of the poem My Sweet Armenia by the Yeghishe Charents (1897-1937) are carved along the outline of the arch. It translates to:
There is no summit as snow-white as that of lofty Ararat;
Like a distant path to glory-that mount, my timeless guide-I love!
It can get pretty crowded with selfie-taking attention hogs pushing people out of the way, but wait a few minutes for their group to move along and you’ll have some peace and quiet.
Garni Historical and Cultural Museum
The highlight of the village is the Garni Historical and Cultural Museum, which encompasses Garni Fortress. It includes Garni Temple and is one of the most visited attractions in Armenia. Admission is ֏1,500 for adults and free for kids under 12 (as of October 2024). The entrance is through a gate in the walls of the ancient fortress.
Once through the gate, there’s an open space with a concession and souvenir stand. On the opposite side is the path leading to Garni Temple. It’s lined with fragments of ancient structures and ends at an open plaza with the temple at the far end.
Greek Inscription
At the beginning of the path is a tombstone with an ancient Greek inscription. The inscription was discovered in 1945 in the village cemetery by painter Martiros Saryan (1880-1972). It helped archaeologists understand the context of the temple’s construction, which you’ll learn more about below. It reads:
Helios. Tiridates the Great, the king of the Greater Armenia. The ruler built this impregnable temple and fortress for the queen in the 11th year of his reign.
Garni Temple
Garni Temple is the easternmost Greco-Roman building in the world and the only surviving Hellenistic building in the former Soviet Union. According to Russian historian Kamilla Vasilyevna Trever (1892-1974), Tiridates I used funds for the restoration of Artashat, provided by Roman emperor Nero, to build Garni Temple in 77 AD.
Some historians believe it was a temple dedicated to his patron, the Armenian sun god Mihr, while others claim it was a mausoleum. While hypotheses vary, the structure appears to have been designed by Roman architects and built by Greek and local workers.
In the early 4th century, Gregory the Illuminator ordered the destruction of all pagan places of worship in Armenia. Garni Temple, for some unknown reason, was the only temple of its kind exempt from the destruction. It was later converted to a residence and likely used as a Christian mausoleum or shrine.
On the walls of the temple, there are six Arabic and one Persian inscription, all dated to the 9th or 10th century.. They commemorate the capture of the fortress and may indicate the temple’s conversion into a mosque. There’s also a large Armenian inscription by Princess Khoshak Zakarian (c. 1235 – after 1299) and her son, Amir Zakare. Dated 1291, it records the exemption of the people of Garni from taxes paid in wine, goats, and sheep.
The temple collapsed during an earthquake on June 4, 1679. It laid in a pile of fragments for over 200 years until Georgian archaeologist Nikolai Marr (1865-1934) conducted the first professional excavation between 1909 and 1911. It was reconstructed between January 1969 and mid-1975. Original surviving stones were used in ⅓ of the reconstruction while ⅔ is new material.
Features of Garni Temple
The temple “has been described as Greek, Roman, Greco-Roman, or Hellenistic”. It’s made of locally quarried basalt and consists of a colonnaded portico (pronaos) and cella (naos) sitting atop an elevated podium.
The podium measures 15.7 x 11.5 meters (52 x 38 feet) and is 2.8 to 3 meters (9 feet 2 inches to 9 feet 10 inches) high. There are 9 steep steps, each measuring 30 centimeters (12 inches) in height. Pedestals on either side of the stairway feature reliefs of Atlas.
The temple is supported by 24 Ionic columns, with 6 in the front and back, and 8 on the sides, with the corner columns counted twice. Each column is 6.54 meters (21.5 feet) high. The total height of the temple is 10.7 meters (35 feet).
The pediment contains sculptures of plants and geometric figures, and the frieze is a continuous line of acanthus. The front cornice contains sculptures of lion heads.
The cella is 7.13 meters (23.4 feet) high, 7.98 meters (26.2 feet) long, and 5.05 meters (16.6 feet) wide. It covers an area of 40.3 square meters (434 square feet) and likely housed a statue. The entrance measures 2.29 x 4.68 meters (7 feet 6 inches x 15 feet 4 inches). The opening in the roof is 1.74 x 1.26 meters (5.7 x 4.1 feet).
Holy Zion Church
Immediately west of Garni Temple are the foundations of the Holy Zion Church. It was much larger than the temple. The cross-shaped church has 4 apses enclosed in a 24-sided perimeter. The sacristies sat at the corners of the wings of the cross. The architect is unknown.
Although it has been dated anywhere between the 7th and 10th centuries, a manuscript written in 1346 claims the church was commissioned in 659 by Catholicos Nerses III the Builder. He was also responsible for the Zvartnots Cathedral and the Chapel of St. Gregory at Khor Virap.
Royal Bath of Garni
The Royal Bath is the best preserved building from the palace once located within the fortress. It sits about 50 meters northwest of the temple and consists of a row of four rooms. Outside the bath are the foundations of other structures.
Columns of disk-shaped bricks 6-7 centimeters thick and 20-25 centimeters in diameter make up the hypocaust system underneath the floors. The columns are reinforced with a thin layer of lime mortar. 6-7 centimeter thick slabs covering an area of 60-70 square centimeters were placed atop the columns and were covered with 5-8 centimeter thick slab of sand, limestone, and ground brick.
The dressing room of the bath is the most impressive section. It features a late 3rd century floor mosaic discovered in 1953. The mosaic is made of natural stones from the Azat River measuring between 1 and 1.5 square centimeters. It depicts human representations of the ocean and sea within a braided ornamented frame. There are also images of ichthyocentaurs, nereids, sailors, fishermen, fish, dolphins, oysters, and gods from Greek mythology.
A Greek inscription in the center of the mosaic reads:
We worked without getting anything
Symphony of Stones
The Symphony of Stones is a spectacular natural site in a portion of the Garni Gorge. It’s a series of rock formations on the cliff walls. Admission is ֏300 for adults and free for children (as of October 2024).
The Symphony of Stones formed about 40 million years ago in a phenomenon called columnar jointing. Lava from the nearby mountains flowed down into Garni Gorge. It quickly cooled and crystallized, forming a series of columns. The weight of the rock holds the columns in place.
Together, the basalt columns resemble a giant pipe organ, hence the name Symphony of Stones. They reach heights of up to 50 meters and are hexagonal or pentagonal in shape.
A cobblestone path leads down to the formations. Along the way, it passes an 11th century medieval bridge reconstructed in 2013. If you take your time, it takes about 15 minutes to get down to the end of the path where there’s a concession stand. You can hop on the Garni Express, a tourist train, if you don’t feel like walking.
Lavash Master Class at Abelyan’s House
Before heading back to Yerevan, we were treated to a lavash baking class at Abelyan’s House. It’s a guesthouse and traditional Armenian restaurant with a beautiful garden. Lavash is a thin flatbread that’s used to make wraps.
After enjoying the peaceful garden, our guide led us to the demonstration kitchen. Two friendly local women dressed in traditional clothing greeted us before our guide told us the importance of lavash bread in Armenia. One of the women fired up the tandoor oven and pulled the hood down to heat it up.
Next, the other woman sprinkled a generous amount of flour on a circular wooden table and began rolling the dough. When it was thin enough, she passed it to her partner who tossed it around a bit before gently shaping it over a pillow. She then reached deep into the oven and slapped it against the wall. It was interesting to see their system and it looks like a lot of hard work.
After a few moments, the lavash was ready. The woman reached in with a hook, pulled it out of the oven, and handed it to our guide who placed it on the table. We each pulled off a piece and wrapped it with cheese and fresh parsley. It was a delicious treat to finish the day and a fun way to learn about this important Armenian staple.
