Sanahin

Sanahin

The Sanahin Monastery was founded in the 10th century in Sanahin in the Lori province of Armenia. The name Sanahin means "this is older than that". It probably represents the claim that the monastery is older than the neighboring Haghpat Monastery, with which it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Like Haghpat, Sanahin is increasingly visited by tourists, as its monastery complex is as beautiful as Haghpat's. The complex belongs to the Armenian Apostolic Church, with numerous khachkars and bishop's tombs. Legend has it that the monastery was built by a father and son. The father laid the walls and the son cut the stones. Before the father could finish the monastery, the son died. The father left without tearing down the stairs. After a while, he met a man from Shnogh and told him the secret of dismantling the stairs of the monastery. Shnoghetsi came to Sanahin, dismantled the monastery stairs with a horse, as the master says, and got a lot of money for it.