GEOGRAPHER'S TRAVEL PHOTOS

Vanadzor

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From Gyumri, we took a bus to Vanadzor, which is the third largest city of Armenia. It too has had several names in different times. During the Tsarist regime a Turkish name Karakilisa (Black Church) was used while in the Soviet time the city was called Kirovakan.

Vanadzor is considered one of the most beautiful cities of Armenia. We had back luck with the weather, however, as it was rainy for most of the time we spent in Vanadzor (which was not much: one evening and the night). Hence, we didn't see even the famous black church.

We stayed at Hotel Gugark (Gugark was the northenmost province of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia). It is located in the city centre in a building from Stalin's era. Although it might have been less shabby at its best it was still quite impressive and nice place to stay. Price was cheap and the service proper.