Voskepar Church
VII AD - Tavush Marz
Bumping back to the main road, you cross imperceptibly into a projecting piece of Azerbaijan and the destroyed Azeri village of Lower Askipara. However, the de facto boundary in 1999 runs along a line of hills about 3 km further E. The spur road left takes one back into Armenia, the village of Voskepar (677 v) just W of the road, with a brand new little church by the highway. Still standing on the edge of the ruins of Askipara, intact/restored despite use in the fighting as a machine gun nest, is Astvatsatsin Church of the 7th c, visible from the road. Somewhere near are traces of a 10-11th c. castle. A deteriorating road W from Voskepar leads one to a lovely stream valley filled with the skeletal houses of Upper Askipara (Verin Aghsibara), a piece of Azerbaijani territory entirely surrounded by Armenia and separated from Lower Askipara by Voskepar. At the W end of the village is an 18th (?) c. tower fort with arrow slits. One km beyond is a medieval stone bridge. Taking the road further upstream, the right fork allegedly leads to a large ruined church beyond a former collective farm complex.
[Paragraph Source: Rediscover Armenia Guide]