|
UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
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A
remote
and
beautiful
part
of
Armenia along the NE border with Azerbaijan, the former
Shamsadin district is comprised of three deep river valleys, the
Hakhum, Tavush, and Khndzorut, all running N to the Kura in
Azerbaijan from the Miapor mountain range, with high ridges in
between. There
are three access roads |
|
Turning
right, one enters
Navur,
with a series of ruined
3rd-1st millennium forts:
Tandzut fort, 1st millennium BC (5 km S);
Berdi Glukh fort, early 1st millenium BC (S edge of
town); Kari Glukh cyclopean fort; Srtner fort, 6-4th
c. BC (small hill 6 km W); Dashti Berd
cyclopean fort (3km |
UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
|
|
into
the region. First is a spectacular mountain road that leaves
from the NW edge of Ttujur, just beyond Chambarak/Krasnosyelsk,
and follows the ridge between the Hayrum and Tavush rivers to
Navur. Second is a road that goes E from the N extremity of the
Ijevan-Kazakh road, following the Azerbaijani border. Third,
shortest looking on the map but the most difficult, is a poor
dirt road that switchbacks up from the S edge of Ijevan, through
Ganzakar and thence to Itsakar and Berd.
From
Krasnosyelsk/Chambarak E of Lake Sevan, the road NW along the
Getik river passes Ttujur and (8.4 km from the Krasnosyelsk
junction) turns back to the right on a smooth, partly asphalted
road. From this turn-off, the road reaches the
Marz
boundary/watershed at 5.8 km, and then a series of hamlets
for pasturing animals during the summer. At 28.5 km is a modern
monument from 1988, with picnic tables made from old millstones
and an ornamental fortress inscribed “Eternal is my paternal
earth.” At 41.3 km is an impressive equestrian statue (1993?)
of General Andranik facing fiercely toward Azerbaijan, with a
small child? clutched to his chest. Beside this is the
well-tended grave of Mushegh “Papo” Asrian, commander of the
Navur self-defense forces, killed in 1990 in an auto accident
near Hrazdan (or else, by a more poetic narrative, sacrificed in
Karabakh). At 42 km is the intersection with the Itsakar-Berd
road. Turning left one soon reaches the little village of
Itsakar
on the road back to Ijevan.
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|
SW)
has substantial
wall remains. |
