bell tower of the Saghmosavank Monastery
Here again, vank already means monastery, and Saghmosavank means the Monastery of Psalms. Like Hovhannavank, this monastery is also located at the edge of the Kasagh River canyon, north of the town of Ashtarak. And like the bulk of Hovhannavank, it was also constructed in the 13th Century, from similar materials.
carved decoration on the outside church wall
Interestingly, the entrance to the gavit, the typically Armenian early Medieval construction in front of the actual church, looks very much like the entrance of a mosque. Inside the church, a few frescoes adorn the walls. Part of the outside walls is decorated with a series of delicately carved crosses, like kachkars – the Armenian stellae often depicting crosses – that are incorporated in the wall.
detail of what looks like kachkars embedded in the wall
more kachkar-type decoration of the church wall
church entrance from the gavit
the arches on the side of the gavit are also decorated
frescoes on one of the pillars insede the church
more frescoes on the pillars
fresco of a full-size figure
another one of the frescoes in Saghmosavank
