Aschtarak & Amberd Fortress

Ashtarak is an industrial city in Armenia, on the left bank of Kasagh River along the gorge, approximately 20 km north-west of the capital Yerevan, at a height of 1110 meters above sea level. It is the administrative capital of Aragatsotn province. Ashtarak with 21,600 inhabitants, is an important crossroad of routes for the Yerevan-Gyumri-Vanadzor rectangle.
Ashtarak is one of the oldest cities of Armenia with numerous historical and cultural monuments that allowed the town to retain the flavour of the ancient and beautiful Armenian town. It was founded in the 9th century and reconstructed in the 17th century.
The monastery complexes of Saghmosavank is 5 kilometers apart and situated in the villages of the same names of the Ashtarak district. The monastery perches on the edge of the precipitous gorge of the Kasakh river. His silhouette dominate the adjacent villages and rise sharp against the background of the mountains crowned by Mt. Aragats.
The main temple of the monastery erected by Prince Vache Vachutyan — the Church of Zion in Saghmosavank (1215) belongs to the same type of cross-winged domed structure with two-floor annexes in all the corners of the building. Subcupola space predominates in the interiors of both churches, which is reflected in the exterior shapes of these structures.
The book repository of Saghmosavank, built in 1255 under Prince Kurd Vachutyan is among Armenia’s buildings rare in their purpose and original in their composition. Added to three buildings erected earlier it is L-shaped in plan. There is an altar apse on its eastern side, and its southeastern corner has two-floor annexes attached to it — a unique phenomenon in the structures of such purpose.
Amberd is the name given to the 7th century Armenian fortress located 2,300 meters (7,500 ft) above sea level, on the slopes of Mount Aragats at the confluence of the Arkashen and Amberd rivers in the province of Aragatsotn. The name translates to "fortress in the clouds" in Armenian. It is also the name incorrectly attributed to Vahramashen Church, the 11th century Armenian church near the castle. The village of Byurakan is located 4 miles (6.4 km) away from the site of Amberd.
The site where the fortress sits presently started as a Stone Age settlement. During the Bronze Age and Urartian periods, a fortress had been built that is now obsolete. Some sources say that Amberd used to be a summer residence for kings. The castle of Amberd and some sections of walls were constructed in the 7th century AD as a possession of the noble House of Kamsarakan.
Four centuries later the fortress and surrounding lands were purchased by the House of Pahlavuni and rebuilt by Prince Vahram Vachutian Pahlavuni, as is recorded in the manuscripts of Grigor Magistros Pahlavuni. Vahram built the Church of Surb Astvatsatsin in 1026, fortified the complex with thicker stone walls, and added three bastions along the ridge of the Arkhashen canyon. Despite being unusual for a military installation, a bath house was built in the same period and has remained moderately intact along with the water supply system.
Amberd was invaded in the 1070s by the Seljuq Turks who turned it into a military base. In 1197, a joint-army of Georgians and Armenians led by General Zakareh Zakarian liberated the fortress. Under Zakarian control during the 12th–13th centuries, the walls were structurally reinforced and the castle and outer buildings were renovated.
The noble Vacheh Vachutian purchased Amberd in 1215, making it a key defensive site in the region. Within a short period of time, the Mongols captured and destroyed the fortress in the year 1236. The site remained abandoned and untouched until the 20th century, when reconstruction and archaeological excavations began.