UNDER CONSTRUCTION

   The    right-hand   turn   at   the    main Vardenis roundabout goes to the eerie but appealing village of Ayrk (till recently Dashkend). In Ayrk, take the right fork at the village store, and watch out on the right for the Astvatsatsin Church (dated 1181) and, 150 m beyond, the Katoghike S. Gevorg   church  of   13^th c.,  both   with

   Taking the left fork at  the  store,  one comes to the essentially abandoned hamlet of Nerkin Shorzha.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

substantial graveyards. Between the two churches are massive stone walls of an Iron Age fortification, with shallow caves below.