Vanq, Gandzasar Monastery.

 church, interesting place, Armenian Apostolic church

The Gandzasar monastery (Armenian: Գանձասար) is an Armenian monastery in Nagorno-Karabakh, situated in the Mardakert region, near the village of Vank. Gandzasar means treasure mountain or hilltop treasure in Armenian.[1]

On this site is the Church of St. John the Baptist ,which was built between 1216 and 1238. The complex is protected by high walls, which have exquisite bas-reliefs on the exterior walls that depict the Crucifixion, Adam and Eve, and two ministers holding a model of the church above their heads as an offering to God. The bas-reliefs have been compared to the elaborate carvings of Aghtamar, and some scholars and historians consider the monastery to represent one of the top masterpieces of Armenian architecture.