Sanahin monastery is located in province of Lori in Armenia, close to Georgian border. Sanahin monastery was second site we visited during our short one day trip to Armenia, just shortly after we visited Haghpat monastery.
I was so eager to master a photography using my DSLR camera and a tripod (it's damn hard to use a tripod in 30 minutes sightseeing tour) so I didn't actually paid much attention on history a local guides were telling about this place. After all I prefer to do Wikipedia search after or before, but not on site.
So it's all about photography this time, for the first time I have used Adobe Lightroom to edit (fine tune) my images, but unfortunately I was not shooting in RAW mode back there in Armenia, so all I have is edited jpegs.
Sanahin monastery in Armenia
The name Sanahin literally translates from Armenian as "this one is older than that one", presumably representing a claim to having an older monastery than the neighboring Haghpat Monastery.
Tourists at Sanahin monastery
As with Haghpat, Sanahin is frequented by an increasing number of tourists, due to its recent inclusion on the itineraries of numerous Armenian tour agencies, the beauty of its monastery complex matching that of Haghpat's.
Inside Sanahin monastery
Dome inside Sanahin church
Khachkar (stone with elaborate engravings representing a cross)
A khachkar, also known as an Armenian cross-stone is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, interlaces, and botanical motifs. Khachkars are characteristic of Medieval Christian Armenian art.
Now this was worth of spending some 10 minutes with my tripod here.
Doors at Sanahin monastery complex
Prayer candles
Altar at Sanahin church
Sanahin Monastery complex
Sanahin Monastery complex
About Sanahin monastery
Sanahin Monastery is an Armenian monastery founded in the 10th century in the Lori Province of Armenia.
The name Sanahin literally translates from Armenian as "this one is older than that one", presumably representing a claim to having an older monastery than the neighbouring Haghpat Monastery. The two villages and their monasteries are similar in many ways, and lie in plain view of each other on a dissected plateau formation, separated by a deep "crack" formed by a small river flowing into the Debed river.
As with Haghpat, Sanahin is frequented by an increasing number of tourists, due to its recent inclusion on the itineraries of numerous Armenian tour agencies, the beauty of its monastery complex matching that of Haghpat's. The complex belongs to theArmenian Apostolic Church with numerous khachkars (stones with elaborate engravings representing a cross) and bishopgravesites scattered throughout it.
