Acharkut Village

Acharkut (Arm: Աչարկուտ), Tavush Marz

A bit further W from Kirants village, straddling the river, is Acharkut (202 p, once Kunen), a formerly mixed village founded in 1930 as part of a forestry collective but occupying part of a once major 9-10th c. town site. On the N bank is an early church. On the slope S of Acharkut by the bridge, a dirt road winds uphill to a ramshackle cemetery church of S. Astvatsatsin (inscription reads: "In the year 1675 I Melikshahnazar son of Melikaslamaz of the Herume clan, and my wife Khanzate built S. Astvatsatsin by the hand of Master Hakop.") and a picnic area beyond. At the W edge of Acharkut, on the N side of the stream (medieval Sranots bridge somewhere nearby), the main village road ends at a locked gate, which a neighbor (on the right) will open. About 1 km W of the gate, overlooking the muddy, rutted but passable track (ideal for mountain bikes), are the ruined but interesting remains of a caravansaray below the 13th c. Arakelots (Apostles') Monastery* =60= (41 02.00n x 045 04.28e) complex. About 80 m further, a jeep track branches uphill to the monastery proper, visible on the crest of the hill in dense forest. Though the church is unimpressive, the forest setting, the mossy tombstones and substantial remains of the defensive circuit make this a rewarding site. Note the interesting jhamatun roof, which is built using the hazarashen method. The Hazareshen method normally uses square timber, being stacked in smaller and smaller squares at 45 degree angles, somewhat like a pyramid. That same method is employed using stone at Arakelots. There is a ruined chapel on the next hill as well. Supposedly, 2 km NE of Arakelots Vank on a flat place on the mountain ridge is the little church and khachkar of Khndzorut.

Source: Rediscovering Armenia Guidebook