Despite its name, 'Maiden's Castle', almost all that remains of Kız Kalesi is a red-stone church, probably dating from the late 10th century. It's off limits to visitors, but the view from İç Kale, some 700m further north, makes the site's impenetrable defensive position clear, situated as it is on a cliff-sided peninsula high above a tight curl in the Arpaçay Canyon.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.11 MILES
The ruins of Ani, 45km east of Kars, are an absolute must-see. Visitors enter through gigantic fortress walls that look like they fell off a crusader…
0.85 MILES
Appealingly sited overlooking a stretch of river gorge, this 13th-century church appears relatively intact, though the current main door is within what…
26.5 MILES
Dating from at least 1153, Kars Castle' s hefty, dark-stone walls crown the craggy ridge that dominates the city-centre's northern edge, fronted by a…
0.73 MILES
Completed in 1010, the grassy-roofed cathedral is the largest building among the Ani ruins. The building's elegantly finished stone walls are relatively…
0.63 MILES
Ani's 1072 Manuçehr Camii was built by the Seljuk Turks, using Armenian architects and artisans, creating a stylistic blend in what is considered to have…
25.89 MILES
Marmashen’s location deep in a river valley 10km northwest of Gyumri is unusual – medieval monasteries in Armenia were almost always constructed in…
Museum of the Aslamazyan Sisters
24.6 MILES
Artists Mariam (1907–2006) and Yeranuhi (1910–98) Aslamazyan were born in Bash-Shirak village near Gyumri and two floors of this handsome 19th-century…
23.92 MILES
Once the summer residence of the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin, the still-functioning Harichavank is located in the old town of Harich, about 4km from the…
Nearby Far Northeast attractions
0.37 MILES
One of the best places from which to admire the impregnable Kız Kalesi site is from this viewpoint near the southern end of the İç Kale citadel ruins.
0.42 MILES
Covering the large rocky eminence at the southern point of the Ani plateau, İç Kale is a jumble of tumbled stone, with faint vestiges of ancient palaces…
0.62 MILES
Two unconnected brick towers are all that remain of a once important 9th-century bridge that formerly straddled the Arpaçay, the river that now forms the…
0.63 MILES
Ani's 1072 Manuçehr Camii was built by the Seljuk Turks, using Armenian architects and artisans, creating a stylistic blend in what is considered to have…
0.69 MILES
Out of bounds just above Arpaçay gorge, this complex of ruins is most notable for the dainty, serrated-domed chapel (probably 11th-century) enclosed by a…
0.73 MILES
Completed in 1010, the grassy-roofed cathedral is the largest building among the Ani ruins. The building's elegantly finished stone walls are relatively…
0.76 MILES
A well-preserved central landmark in the heart of the Ani plateau, this rotunda-shaped church with a conical roof was built in about 980 for the wealthy…
0.81 MILES
The most substantial remnant of this 11th-century mosque is its minaret, now lying on its side with the spiral stairs inside clearly visible. It was…