| Amberd, is a 7th century fortress and an 11th | | | | blocs. There are information referring to |
| century church located on the slopes of Mount | | | | Kosh in Armenian scripts from the 4th |
| Aragats in the province of Aragatsotn, | | | | century. |
| Armenia. | | | | |
| | | | Churches |
| Amberd translates to fortress in the clouds | | | | |
| in Armenian. It is located 2,300 meters above | | | | The churches of St Grigor (13th-14th |
| sea level on the slopes of the Mount Aragats. | | | | centuries) and St. Gevork (19th century) are |
| The village of Byurakan not to be confused | | | | protected within Kosh, and an oil refinery |
| with the Byurakan Observatory is located four | | | | (18th century). The fortress of Kosh (13th |
| miles away from Amberd. | | | | century) is located in the northern part, top |
| | | | of a hill with right-angled corners and |
| The fortress was founded in the 7th century | | | | circular towers, built with clear cut large |
| AD as a possession of the noble House of | | | | tuff stone blocks, with the lower part |
| Kamsarakan. Four centuries later it was | | | | consisting of rough-cut basalt blocks. The |
| purchased by the House of Pahlavuni and | | | | entrances are situated in the north and south |
| rebuilt by Prince Vahram Vachutian Pahlavuni. | | | | with ceiling-covered corridors. South of |
| Vahram fortified the complex with thicker | | | | Kosh, stands a large khatchkar-monument of |
| stone walls and added three bastions along | | | | red tuff from 1195 (6.8m tall). According to |
| the ridge of the Arkhashyan canyon. The domed | | | | inscriptions, it is dedicated to the |
| church was built in 1026 as testified by the | | | | liberation of Aragatzotn from Seljuk Turks. |
| inscriptions made on it, it's located between | | | | |
| the castle and the edge of hill, looking down | | | | Shirak is one of the provinces (marz) of |
| on the Arkhashyan river. A bathouse built in | | | | Armenia. It is in the north-west of the |
| the same period and quite unusual for a | | | | country, bordering Turkey in the west and |
| military installation has also remained | | | | Georgia in the north. Its capital is Gyumri. |
| moderately intact along with the water supply | | | | Shirak is known as the homeland of khash. It |
| system. Amberd was overrun in the 11th | | | | is as much semi-desert as it is mountain |
| century by the Seljuk Turks and destroyed by | | | | meadow or high alpine. In the south, the high |
| Mongols in the 13th century. | | | | steppes crash into mountain terrain, verdant |
| | | | green in the spring, hues of reddish brown in |
| Namrun Kalesi is a castle near the town of | | | | the summer. |
| Çamliyayla in Mersin Province, Turkey. | | | | |
| While part of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia | | | | History |
| in the Middle Ages, the castle was known as | | | | |
| Lampron and was the ancestral home of the | | | | The ancient history of Shirak is similar to |
| Armenian Hethumid princes. Situated in the | | | | its cousin the Ararat Valley, steeped in |
| Taurus Mountains, the fortress guarded passes | | | | legend to some, but found by archaeologists |
| to Tarsus and the Cilician plain. | | | | to have been inhabited 250,000 years ago, |
| | | | with settlements popping up along the |
| The village of Kosh is located in the | | | | Akhurian Valley beginning around 9000 BC. |
| Ashtarak district, about 18 km south-west of | | | | Agriculturally based, the region has few of |
| the district centre. There are numreous | | | | the metallurgical centers found South, but |
| remainings from early Iron Age residential | | | | still had sophisticated settlements. |
| ruins and buildings of large basalt stone | | | | |