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28-461: The town plays a great role in the national economy as well as the cultural life of Armenia through several industrial enterprises and cultural institutions. It has developed as a satellite town of Yerevan. The nearby village of Mughni is part of the Ashtarak municipality. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town was 18,834. However, as per the 2016 official estimate, the population of Ashtarak

56-607: A hermit and three small churches appeared at the edge of the gorge, named after the sisters' dress colours. The best preserved one among the three churches is the Karmravor Church (meaning reddish for its dome colour), dating back to the 7th century, dedicated to the Holy Mother of God (Surp Astvatsatsin). It has a small cruciform central-plan, with a reddish/apricot colored dome, and an octagonal drum. Other churches include, Tsiranavor (meaning apricot-colored ) dating back to

84-800: A Persian victory, during the Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828 . It remained under the Persian rule until 1827-1828, when Eastern Armenia was ceded to the Russian Empire as a result of the same Russo-Persian War of 1826–28 and the signing of the Treaty of Turkmenchay . After the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917, Ashtarak was included within the First Republic of Armenia declared on 28 May 1918. However, after 2 years of brief independence, Armenia became part of

112-541: A hot and dry weather in summers, especially in August and September, the driest months. Spring is the wettest time of the year. Hail is a rare event which can happen in warmer months. Ashtarak has a cultural palace, 4 schools of art, and many public libraries, including the Aragatsotn regional library named after Vardges Petrosyan . The town is also home to the house-museum of novelist Perch Proshyan founded in 1948, located at

140-417: A legend, 3 sisters lived in Ashtarak, all of whom fell in love with the same man, prince Sarkis . The elder 2 sisters decided to commit suicide in favour of the youngest one. One wearing an apricot -orange dress and the other wearing a red dress, they threw themselves into the Ashtarak gorge. When the youngest sister found out, she put on a white dress and also threw herself into the gorge. Sarkis then became

168-453: A rural settlement for the first time during the 9th century. However, the importance of Ashtarak has declined during the following centuries under the rule of the foreign powers. Between the 11th and 15th centuries, the entire region of Aragatsotn along with the rest of the historic territories of Armenia suffered from the Seljuk , Mongol, Ag Qoyunlu and Kara Koyunlu invasions, respectively. At

196-646: Is 18,000. As of the 2022 census, the population of the town was 15,686. The prelacy of the Diocese of Aragatsotn of the Armenian Apostolic Church is headquartered in Ashtarak. The name of Ashtarak is the Armenian word for tower or fortress . However, according to linguist Grigor Ghapantsyan, the name of Ashtarak is derived from Ishtar (Ashtar), the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility . Contrarily,

224-605: Is also home to the "Ayrudzi" horse racing club. Ashtarak is twinned with: Mughni 40°18′56″N 44°22′18″E  /  40.31556°N 44.37167°E  / 40.31556; 44.37167 Mughni ( Armenian : Մուղնի ) is a village situated in the Ashtarak Municipality of the Aragatsotn Province in Armenia . It is located just to the north of Ashtarak town and falls under its municipality. Prior to

252-728: Is one of the largest plains of the Armenian Highlands . It stretches west of the Sevan basin, at the foothills of the Gegham mountains . In the north, the plain borders on Mount Aragats , and Mount Ararat in the south. It is divided into two sections by the Aras River , the northern part located in Armenia , and the southern part in modern Turkey . The Turkish part of the plain is an Important Bird Area . The Medieval Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi recorded in his History of Armenia that

280-408: Is situated on an attractive point at a promontory overlooking the gorge and offers a fine view to the above-mentioned three churches. The external walls of the structure were almost completely restored recently while the interior walls remain the same. Some pieces of the outer walls remain sitting next to the church with carvings on them. The Ashtarak Walnut Festival is taking place every year during

308-580: The Soviet Union in December 1920. From 1930 until 1995, Ashtarak was the centre of the Ashtarak raion . During that period, Ashtarak was granted the status of a town in 1963. After the independence of Armenia in 1991, Ashtarak became the capital of the newly-formed Aragatsotn Province as a result of the territorial administration reform of 1995. Ashtarak is located on the left bank of Kasagh River , 13 km to

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336-522: The 5th century, and Spitakavor (meaning whitish ) dating back to the 13th century, both are located along the edge of the gorge. The largest church of the town is the Saint Marianeh Church located at the center of Ashtarak. It was built in 1271 and has a rectangular plan from outside and a cruciform type plan from inside with an octagonal drum above. A belfry was added in 1838. The 19th-century church of Surp Sarkis built on an old foundation,

364-552: The Ararat plain was named after King Ara the Handsome , the great-grandson of Amasya. The Ararat Plain and the Sevan basin experience abundant sunshine and are the sunniest areas in Armenia, receiving about 2,700 hours of sunshine a year. The shortest duration of sunshine is in the mid-mountain areas of the forest zone (about 2,000 hours). In the foothills, there is rarely a sunless day between

392-541: The M-3 Motorway connects the town with northeastern Armenia up to the Georgian border. Taxi services are available in the town while public vans locally-known as marshrutka , operate regular trips between Ashtarak and Yerevan throughout the day. Ashtarak is one of the major industrial centre of Aragatsotn Province. The industrial sector of the town is based on food-processing, dairy products and beverages, mainly processing

420-883: The Russian conquest, it held the distinction of being the southernmost town in the Aparan district. Mughni is renowned for housing the 14th-century Saint Gevork Monastery , which was once a prominent pilgrimage site and the residence of an archbishop. The dome of the church was reconstructed in the 1660s. This article about a location in Aragatsotn Province, Armenia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ararat plain The Ararat Plain ( Armenian : Արարատյան դաշտ , romanized :  Araratyan dasht ), called Iğdır Plain in Turkey ( Turkish : Iğdır Ovası ),

448-454: The area of modern-day Aragatsotn. Historically, the area of modern-day Ashtarak was part of the Aragatsotn canton of Ayrarat province of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia . The town is one of the oldest settlements in Armenia with many historical and cultural monuments that demonstrate the unique aspects of Armenian architecture. In the history of the Armenian highland, Ashtarak was mentioned as

476-740: The beginning of the 16th century, Ahtarak became part of the Erivan Beglarbegi within the Safavid Persia . During the 17th century, the town was entirely rebuilt. During the first half of the 18th century, Ashtarak became part of the Erivan Khanate under the rule of the Afsharid dynasty and later under the Qajar dynasty of Persia. Ashtarak was the site of the Battle of Oshakan in August 1827, which resulted in

504-466: The centre of town within the Proshyan family house. It was last restored in 2008. The 17th-century bridge of Ashtarak on Kasagh River is among the interesting sites of the town. It is located in the gorge just below the church of Saint Sarkis. It was built in 1664 by the efforts of Mahdesi Khoja Grigor ; a wealthy merchant from Kanaker . The bridge features 3 arches that are unequal in size. According to

532-572: The city is Kasaghi Marzik Stadium with a capacity of 3,500 spectators. The sport school of Ashtarak is regulated by the Sevan sports public organization. The centre was entirely renovated and opened in July 2017, with an approximate cost of US$ 1 million. The school has around 350 young athletes specialized in Olympic wrestling, weightlifting, boxing, martial arts, volleyball, basketball, football and chess. Ashtarak

560-469: The domestic raw materials and grapes. Ashtarak is home to the "Ashtarak-Kat" company (founded in 1995), the leading ice-cream and dairy products manufacturer in Armenia. The town is also home to the "Gourmet Dourme" chocolate factory founded in 2007, the "P & D Group Armenia" for plastic containers founded in 2007, as well as the "Milen Art" plant and the "Kharam Cooperative" for building materials production. With several restaurants and recreation areas,

588-427: The latest historical research proved that the name of Ishtar was never used in the Armenian mythology during the ancient times. Instead, the goddess of fertility was known as Shardi or Sardi in the ancient kingdom of Urartu , and later became known as Astghik among the Armenian monks. Other linguists suggest that the name of Ashtarak is related either with the legendary figure in the Armenian history Shidar ;

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616-462: The month of October to promote the fame of the delicious walnut of Ashtarak. It was first celebrated in 2012. The festival is organized by the French-Armenian owners of the local Pascal & Diodato café. Ashtarak is a satellite of Yerevan and connected with the capital through the Ashtarak highway. The M-1 Motorway connects Ashtarak with northwestern Armenia, including the city of Gyumri, while

644-572: The months of June and October. The Ararat Plain makes up 4% of Armenia's total land area, but yields 40% of the country's farm production. In the Turkish part of the plain, apricot is widely produced on a 1,525 ha-area. This area has been inhabited since the Neolithic or the Early Chalcolithic times. The name 'Armenia' is written for the first time in history in the 24th-23rd centuries B.C. in

672-477: The northwest of the capital Yerevan, at an approximate height of 1110 meters above sea level. The town occupies the central point between the Ararat plain from the south and the mountains of Aragats from the north. The area is rich with water resources. The fountains of Saghmosavan , Nazrevan and Shroshor are the main sources of drinking water for the town. The town is divided into 4 districts: Old Ashtarak on

700-479: The right bank of Kasagh river, Dzakhap (literally meaning left bank ) on the left side of Kasagh, Gitavan and Bagavan . The village of Mughni -included within the municipality of Ashtarak- is located to the north of the town. The valley of Ashtarak commonly known as Ashtaraki dzor is a major destination for visitors from Yerevan and other nearby settlements. Ashtarak has a hot-summer humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification Dsa ). The city has

728-506: The son of king Artavasdes I of Armenia , or with Sarduri II ; the king of Urartu. The Bronze Age necropolises of Nerkin and Verin Naver are located just outside of modern Ashtarak. Archaeologist Hakob Y. Simonyan believes that they were constructed by an Indo-European culture, potentially early Armenians. According to Movses Khorenatsi , Armanak, the son of the patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation Hayk , along with his clan, settled in

756-534: The valley of Kasagh river -locally known as Ashtaraki dzor - is a major destination for visitors from Yerevan and other areas. Ashtarak is home to 7 public education schools and 6 pre-school kindergartens. It is also home to the Ashtarak State Vocational School, which is an intermediate technical college. 2 major scientific research institutions of Armenia are based in Ashtarak: FC Mika

784-439: Was founded in 1999 on the basis of the merger of 2 football clubs: Mika Ashtarak and Kasagh Ashtarak Under the merger, the name of the new club became Mika-Kasagh Ashtarak. However, the merger only lasted for 1 year; until 2000. Kasagh Ashtarak restored its original name, keeping their logo, history and statistics, while FC Mika settled for being a new club. In 2007, Mika was relocated from Ashtarak to Yerevan . The only stadium of

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