Garni: the 1st-century Ionic temple and the basalt columns of the canyon
A temple with Ionic columns on a spur above a canyon, with Ararat in the background on clear days: that is Garni, 30 km from Yerevan, and it is the first thing almost everyone sees outside the capital. It is the only Greco-Roman building still standing in Armenia and in the whole Caucasus, and it is standing because it was put back together: the earthquake of 1679 brought the whole thing down and the stones lay on the ground for almost three centuries until, between 1969 and 1975, it was rebuilt piece by piece, with concrete only where blocks were missing.
The temple
It is thought to have been built by King Tiridates I in the 1st century, with money Nero gave him when he went to Rome to be crowned, and dedicated probably to Mihr, the sun god. There are 24 Ionic columns on a high podium with a staircase of nine steps, all in grey basalt, and a frieze of acanthus leaves, lions and pomegranates. It is small; what makes it big is the site. When Armenia became Christian, in 301, the king's sister is said to have saved it from demolition to use it as a summer residence.
The fortress and the baths
The spur was a fortress long before: there is a cuneiform inscription of the Urartian king Argishti I, from the 8th century BC, and the kings of Armenia had their summer residence here from the 3rd century BC. Stretches of wall with towers survive and, beside the temple, the 3rd-century AD baths, with four rooms and a floor mosaic of sea figures, Ocean and Thalassa, and a Greek inscription saying the craftsmen worked without receiving anything; the guides enjoy telling it. There are also remains of a 7th-century church and of the palace.
The Symphony of Stones
Below the temple, in the canyon of the Azat river, is a wall of hexagonal basalt columns, hanging vertically and fanning out, that look like organ pipes: people call them the Symphony of Stones. You go down from the village on a dirt track, half an hour on foot or in the 4x4 taxis waiting in the square, and walk a kilometre along the river among the columns. It is the part fewest people do and the one they remember most.
How to get there and combine
From Yerevan, 40 minutes by car; there are marshrutkas from the Gai stop in the east of the city. Entry to the temple costs about 1,500 drams; it opens every day. The usual excursion joins Garni, the canyon and the monastery of Geghard, 9 km further up, in half a day or a day, and you eat well in Garni village: there are houses that bake lavash in the tonir in front of the customer.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the temple of Garni famous?
Because it is the only Greco-Roman temple preserved in Armenia and in the Caucasus, from the 1st century, with 24 Ionic columns. It collapsed in the earthquake of 1679 and was rebuilt from its own stones between 1969 and 1975.
How long does it take from Yerevan?
About 40 minutes by car over 30 km of road. There are marshrutkas from the Gai stop. The norm is to combine it with Geghard and the Azat canyon on the same outing.
What else is there at Garni?
The 3rd-century baths with the mosaic, the fortress walls, remains of a 7th-century church and, down in the canyon, the basalt columns of the Symphony of Stones, half an hour on foot or ten minutes by 4x4 taxi.
