Monastery
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Khor Virap Monastery
Located on a rocky hill in the Ararat Plain directly in front of snow-capped Mount Ararat, Khor Virap — meaning 'Deep Pit' in Armenian — is one of Armenia's most holy pilgrimage sites and historic landmarks. It is built directly over the subterranean dungeon pit where Saint Gregory the Illuminator, the patron saint of Armenia, was imprisoned for 13 years by King Tiridates III for preaching Christianity. Famed as the birthplace of the world's first Christian nation in 301 CE, Khor Virap is shrouded in dark legends of demonic visions, subterranean torments, and lingering phantom presence inside its claustrophobic underground cells.