Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin

These two Byzantine monasteries are in Tumania region and were, in their time, major schools. Both complexes represent the flowering stage of Armenian religious architecture, which is a unique product of the mixture of Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture and architecture of the Caucasian region. Sanahin is a village in the northern province of Norri and whose Armenian name means "this is older than that" perhaps referring to the neighboring monastery. Haghpat meanwhile, is a few kilometers north of Sanahin and is famous for its beautiful complex, which includes a bell tower, a church containing a fresco of Christ on the altar, a chapel and a library.