ARMENIA ~ Zvartnots Cathedral - UNESCO ~

...  Great ruins view with mount Ararat in the background...these impressive columns and capitals are well preserved.... an architectural wonder... this is my last card received from Sini's travels last year in the Caucasus... visiting many wonderful UNESCO sites... it was so nice to be a little part of your amazing journey... through your postcards and writing I discovered a totally unknown region to me... Thanks a million!! (✿ ♥‿♥)

Photo: Levon Bakhshyan
Zvartnots Cathedral( meaning "celestial angels") is a 7th-century centrally planned aisled tetraconch type Armenian cathedral built by the order of Catholicos Nerses the Builder from 641-661 and possible destroyed destroyed either by Arabs, or by earthquake.  It is located at the edge of the city of Vagharshapat in Armavir Province.

The cathedral is unique by it's central planning (one of the oldest planning forms, there are only couple of such cathedrals found in the territory of Armenia).

Together with churches in Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), Zvartnots was added to the UNESCO WHS list in 2000.

Stamp:

UNESCO World Cultural Heritage - Armenian Cross-Stones
(Issued 12-12-2014)