In the northern part of the famous village of Oshakan on the edge of a little valley called Mankanots is here we find the 7th-century Church of Saint Sion, also known as the name of the valley, Mankanots, which means kindergarten or nursery. Unfortunately, there is no official inscription or documentation as to when the church was built, but based on its architecture it is estimated to be from the 7th century with a 9th-10th renovation because of ornamentation around the windows. The other theory is that it was built in the 9th-10th century using 7th-century architectural forms. The church is tiny with a cruciform, central plan. The exterior has four equally-sized rectangular arms in each of the cardinal directions with small triangular roofs in between. The dome is centered directly ...Show More
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