The     city    of   Meghri    hoasts     a dilapidated hotel, lots of places for thirsty truckers to buy vodka for the road, and amazing lush fruits and vegetables. The figs are particularly famous. The setting is striking, with green gardens in the rocky desert. There is a  fortress  on  the hillson  the   N  and  E  of  city,  known from the 10^th century but rebuilt   in  the

   Between  Karchevan  and    Agarak (founded 1949) the dirt road passes along the edge of a huge open-pit copper-molybdenum mine. From Agarak, the road descends to the Iranian border. The border-crossing bridge   and   new   customs   point   is nearby,    with    long   lines   of   trucks generally waiting for some mysterious paperwork to arrive from  somewhere.

early 18^th c. by Davit Bek. It had four 2-story circular towers and two rectangular, but no circuit wall between them. This was the only Armenian fortress specifically designed for firearms. In 1727, 400 of Davit Bek’s men held off many times their number of Turkish troops for 5 days, till relief troops arrived. In the Mets Tagh district below the fortress is a 17^th c. Astvatsatsin church with interesting 19^th c. wall paintings. In the Pokr Tagh district SW is a 17^th c. S. Sargis basilica church, with battered 17^th c. frescoes. Also in the SW part of town up the slope is Meghru Vank with a S. Hovhannes church (15-17^th c.). From the roof there is an excellent view of the entire district. This area has crumbling remains of 18-19^th c. houses. Another remains of ruined 19^th  century church is on the eastern side of the city, just left from the road directing to the fortress.

In the former village of Agarak close by are two 17th c. churches, Aknakhach and S. Amenaprkich Vank. The scenery along the Arax river is striking, jagged, arid gorges juxtaposed with verdant river valleys.