Tatev Monastery is one of the most famous sights of Armenia and is of great cultural and historical value for the country. Tatev Monastery was founded in the Vorotan Gorge in 895. The Church of Peter and Paul, built in 895-906, has been preserved here.
Tatev Monastery is located on the edge of a cliff and the landscapes of mountainous Armenia shipping it are very impressive. Every day people come here on excursions from Yerevan and other cities of Armenia. Yerevan is 250 kilometers north of Tatev, and Goris is 35 kilometers northeast.
In addition to the beautiful monastery, you can ride one of the longest cable cars "Wings of Tatev" and see the beauty of the Vorotan Gorge. The cable car passes at an altitude of 300 meters above the Vorotan River. Previously, the monastery could only be reached by a serpentine along the bottom of the gorge. This is also a very picturesque road. In one place there is a natural attraction: a mountain tunnel made by the Vorotan River, which is called the Devil`s Gate.
Tatev Monastery was founded at the end of the 9th century by the suzerain of the Syunik region (south of Armenia) Ashot Suni and his wife Shushanik. The word Tatev in Armenian means "Will give Wings". There is a legend that the architect, after the completion of construction, said: "The Holy Spirit give me wings" and stepped off the cliff of the Vorotan Gorge. However, he didn’t crash. God really gave him wings, and he flew away.
In the 10th century, the monastery became one of the most influential in Armenia; more than a thousand monks lived there. At that time Tatev became one of the centers of science and education in Armenia. In 1345, the Tatev monastery was destroyed by a military detachment of Shahrukh, the son of Tamerlane, but it was quickly restored.
In 1373, the Armenian philosopher and politician Hovhannes Vorotnytsy founded the Tatev University in the monastery. For a while it was the only one in Armenia. The Tatev school of miniatures and book design became very famous. The university had one of the best libraries in Armenia with ancient manuscripts. The monastery still has labyrinths where the monks kept books.
Three churches built in different periods have been preserved on the territory of the Tatev Monastery. The oldest Church of Peter and Paul (St. Pogos-Petrov) was built in 895-906. The Church of the Holy Virgin Mary was built in the 11th century. The Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator (St. Grigor Lusavorich) was built in 1295.
